Pianist, composer and bandleader Steven Feifke doesn’t believe in waiting for a good thing to happen. He thinks success is a direct result of vigorous action.
“I used to wait and wait, and then … nothing,” Feifke says. “So, I used to tell myself, ‘Patience’s promise is a lie.’”
Feifke’s tireless efforts yielded a notable distinction earlier this year — when, at 31, he became the youngest-ever winner of a Grammy award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. He received the award for Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra, an album that bursts with contributions from guests like singer Kurt Elling, trumpeter Sean Jones, and saxophonists Alexa Tarantino and Roxy Coss.
Catalyst, released in June on La Reserve Records, is Feifke’s sixth album in the last two years. It’s a reflection on Newton’s First Law of Motion, which states that an object in motion stays in motion. One tune in particular, “Patience’s Promise,” is Feifke’s musical refutation of the mentality that good things come to those who wait. WRTI is pleased to premiere a video for the track, filmed in the studio.
Helping Feifke to forge ahead here is Benny Benack III, a trumpeter and vocalist who released his own album on the La Reserve label this summer. This medium waltz is a perfect environment for Benack’s crackling melodicism (this time on flugelhorn), aided by the expert steering of drummer Bryan Carter. The song moves us forward — avoiding all turbulence with the greatest of ease.
Tune in to Evening Jazz to hear “Patience’s Promise” and other selections from Steven Feifke’s Catalyst.
