Stepping Up by Simply This Quintet

"Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic we had not rehearsed or performed together since August 2020. Because of the unique nature of the group consisting of graduate students, we weren't able to focus on this project until the spring academic semester ended. We had a total of eleven days to figure out which eight songs would be on this album. In deciding on those eight songs, we rehearsed brand new music as well as considered music from our library of over 25 original compositions. We rehearsed about 3 hours a day, every day, for those eleven days along with playing two gigs in town to get comfortable performing with each other as we explored this music. Our drummer Frank Kurtz affectionately calls these eleven days together "Jazz Camp". The level of comfort within the ensemble grew by the hour, and we returned each day with new ideas to make this music ours. I believe "Stepping Up" exemplifies the quintet's dedication to the history of jazz as well as the future of jazz, as each member continues to develop their voice within the voice of the ensemble." -Bandleader, Matthew Storie

Simply This was formed in the Fall of 2018 by graduate students in the jazz department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Our focus is to reinterpret the classic two tenor saxophone jazz ensembles of the 1950’s and 60’s in a modern jazz style through our own original compositions.

Facebook