Ike Sturm Returns to Origins
By Evan Jagel
What does it take to be a jazz musician in 2022?
Not just a jazz musician, but also someone who creates bold, new art that has the power to speak to and move people from around the world?
It takes much more than the ability to play at a virtuosic level. It takes the ability to forgo genre and to write, improvise and communicate from the heart.
Internationally acclaimed bassist, composer, and bandleader Ike Sturm possesses all of these qualities and for the first time, the Cooperstown Concert Series and Origins Café have partnered in order to present Ike with his new septet, HEART, on Sunday, September 18 at 5 p.m. at Origins Café.
Ike first performed in Cooperstown in September of 2021 with guitarist Jesse Lewis for the inaugural season of the Origins Featured Artist Concert Series. Called Endless Field, they are an ambient acoustic duo that has been featured live on WBGO New York’s “The Checkout” and on NPR, and whose 2017 album includes GRAMMY-winning soloist Donny McCaslin.
In 2019, the duo trekked to Utah in collaboration with National Geographic videographers and L.A. sound engineers. Using a mobile, solar-powered recording studio, they created their critically acclaimed album Alive in the Wilderness, which was released in 2020.
Seeing as the duo also aims to engage others in environmental awareness and activism, the organic beauty of Origins
was a natural fit. So much so, Ike was eager to return to the idyllic space to present Ike Sturm + HEART.
HEART includes Godwin Louis (sax), Chris Dingman (vibraphone), Jesse Lewis (guitar), Jared Schonig (drums), Melissa Stylianou (voice), and Michael Mayo (voice).
Their collective sounds, rooted in Jazz and symphonic harmonies, have been described as “dazzling” (NY Times) and “undeniably beautiful,” (DownBeat) and are bound by raw emotion and incandescent stillness. These are truly some of the best modern musicians in the world with credits including profiles in NPR and the New York Times, work with legendary artists such as Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter (to name a few), and a multitude of awards, commissions, and grants.
Ike grew up in a musical home, the son of renowned composer and arranger Fred Sturm, and earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music.
He has played on four Downbeat award-winning recordings and alongside Bobby McFerrin, Donny McCaslin, Maria Schneider, Kenny Wheeler, and more.
He served as Music Director for the Jazz Ministry of Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan from 2004-2021. Saint Peter’s Church also commissioned Ike to compose a Jazz Mass — a work for voices, strings, and soloists — which merges diverse musical languages into a powerfully unified aesthetic.
The piece was released to critical international acclaim and was named one of Downbeat’s “Best Albums of the Year” and has been performed across the U.S., Scandinavia, and Europe.
Making the decision to create HEART, Ike was clearly positioned to not only assemble a group of such diverse and monumental talent, but to also write and arrange for them with a visionary facility.
The septet will come to Cooperstown fresh from a featured performance at the Lake George Jazz Festival the day before. It will truly be a unique opportunity to experience a group of this magnitude in such an intimate setting.
Tickets are available at www.cooperstownconcertseries.org, and may also be available at the door. For more information on Ike, also visit www.ikesturm.com.