Steve McCall (drummer)


Steve McCall was an American jazz drummer.
McCall was born in Chicago and began his career there in the 1950s. One of his early gigs was playing behind blues singer Lucky Carmichael. McCall befriended Muhal Richard Abrams in 1961, and went on to be one of the founders of the AACM in 1965. He played with hard bop and free jazz musicians throughout the decade; among those he played with were Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Anderson, and Wadada Leo Smith. From 1967 to 1970 he lived in Amsterdam and in Paris, playing there with Braxton, Marion Brown, and Gunter Hampel. In 1970 he moved back to Chicago, where he played in a trio with Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons, and the avant garde trio Air with reed player Henry Threadgill and bassist Fred Hopkins.
He spent another year in Europe in 1974, then moved to New York City in 1975, playing again with Threadgill and Hopkins in Air into the 1980s. He also played with Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, John Hicks and David Murray. He played with David Murray at Galerie Waalkens of Albert Waalkens in the Dutch village Finsterwolde. In 1985 he played with Cecil Taylor, and worked with Roscoe Mitchell again until his death of a stroke in 1989. He never recorded a session as a leader. However, McCall received equal billing with tenor sax player Fred Anderson on the posthumously released Vintage Duets album.

Discography

With Air
With Fred Anderson
With Creative Construction Company
With Muhal Richard Abrams
With Billy Bang
With Amiri Baraka
With Arthur Blythe
With Lester Bowie
With Marion Brown
With Anthony Braxton
With Ted Curson
With Chico Freeman
With Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons
With Gunter Hampel
With Joseph Jarman
With Ramsey Lewis
With Cecil McBee
With Roscoe Mitchell
With David Murray
With Cecil Taylor