Vocalist Steven Santoro & Ahmet Ertegun

Vocalist Steven Santoro has an impressive biography that includes a rich background in music education and performance. A native of Massachusetts, Santoro graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in African-American music and jazz. His early interests in big band charts and swing provided a solid footing in jazz, but he also enjoyed sitting down at the piano and composing and he eventually merged into the world of pop.
His exceptional vocalizing and composing caught the ears of legendary founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun and Santoro found himself at the forefront of jazz radio and on the international pop/jazz charts in the mid ‘90’s. His record Moods and Grooves hit #1 on the UK jazz radio charts.
We caught up with Santoro after the completion of the academic year at Berklee College of Music where he is on the faculty.

Q. You have an impressive history as a jazz vocalist including a recording with Ahmet Ertegun and Atlantic Records and a hit record. What was that experience like?
A. Sometimes it was surreal, especially since at the time of the signing, I had no major music business experience. I had done my small gigs singing originals and standards and toured a little with Columbia Artists Management. But I had never dealt with the kind of “machine” that Atlantic was. I hadn’t worked with a producer before and suddenly I was working with the most famous of them all. It was intimidating at times working on my record “Moods and Grooves,” but I was grounded in my songwriting. It was an experience that taught me a lot.

Q. You are still on the faculty at Berklee College of Music?
A. Yes. Teaching has always been a part of my life, and teaching at Berklee has been like a second education for me. Anyone who teaches will tell you that they continue to learn in many different ways through their work with students. Whether you learn or re-learn from having to prepare and disseminate material that you teach or whether you discover something new from someone who makes music from the standpoint of another culture, it is all very inspiring. It is a truly international environment at Berklee—really beautiful.

Q. What is your latest CD and can you tell us about it?
A. My latest CD is called Whisper My Name. After my Atlantic record, I had gotten away from recording acoustic swing/ballad/jazz oriented music. I recorded a couple more projects that were slanted toward pop/R & B. I wanted to come back around and write for the acoustic jazz rhythm section again, so I wrote a collection of songs that were, for the most part, based on the form of the standards. They have a retro element to them but at the same time they’re definitely modern songs. I put together a great group of players and went into the studio. The personnal are: James Genus, bass; Clarence Penn, drums; Jon Cowherd, piano; Mark Ciprut, guitar; Nathan Childers, sax. All of these guys are at the top of their game. I’m really happy with these songs and the recording.

Q. Give us an update on your activities and what’s coming up for you.
A. I have been working on a project for years that is finally coming to fruition. I have co-written a musical called “Ivory Joe Cole.” It is a piece set in the early 1950’s that revolves around two brothers who are big band/jazz musicians from Harlem who find themselves following a record deal to Miami. We have a production company working with us as well as a Tony-winning director. We were scheduled to open this summer at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, but we decided to take the story in a different direction which led to a major re-write. I’m really excited to get this work in front of a real live audience as it has only been viewed so far by industry audiences. It will happen soon.

Q. Have you ever been to Tanglewood?
A. Though I’ve lived in LA and New York for many years, I’m originally from Massachusetts and even went to UMass. I also talk and talk about relocating to Western Mass because I consider it a magical place, so I can’t believe I have never been to Tanglewood! I’m really looking forward to finally getting there.

The Steven Santoro Quartet will perform at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival on Sunday, September 6, at 12:30 pm. For more information on Steven Santoro, visit stevensantoro.com. For a complete line-up of the Tanglewood Jazz Festival September 4-6 and ticket information, visit tanglewoodjazzfestival.org.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=40179