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Sultan Stevenson: Faithful One

By Chris May
March 14, 2023
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It is rare for a debut album by a young musician to merit four stars, but Faithful One, by the 22 year old London pianist and composer Sultan Stevenson, deserves every shining one of them. An alumnus of the community programme Tomorrow's Warriors, in his liner note he singles out the Warriors' founders,

Gary Crosby

bass, acoustic
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Crosby and Janine Irons, and one of its tutors, tenor saxophonist

Binker Golding

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Binker Golding, for special thanks. Stevenson has been a fast study. For confirmation of that, check the YouTube clip below.

On Faithful One, Stevenson leads his regular trio with bassist

Jacob Gryn

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Jacob Gryn and drummer

Joel Waters

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Joel Waters. They are augmented on half of the tracks by

Josh Short

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Josh Short on trumpet and another Tomorrow's Warrior, the great

Denys Baptiste

saxophone
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Denys Baptiste, on tenor saxophone—bar Baptiste, the same lineup as on the YouTube (which, by the way, was filmed back in January 2021). All the tracks were composed and arranged by Stevenson.

Stevenson's formative influences

McCoy Tyner

piano
1938 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">McCoy Tyner and

Herbie Hancock

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Hancock are audible, but already his playing has taken on its own character. He has technique to spare but, more importantly, he swings. He makes effective use of contrasts, in dynamics and in line, spinning effortlessly between piano and forte and from reflective, economical single-note passages to passionate chordal ones. He also has a mature awareness of the value of space and silence, of still centers among hurricanes of sound.

All but one of the eleven tracks on the fifty-minute disc are concise, and their arrangements include considerable through-writing. The horns, when included, mainly deliver theme statements with gritty hard-boppish voicings and simple counterpoints. The exception is "To Be Seen," which at 09:34 is by around three minutes the longest track and includes brief solos from Baptiste and Short (as does the shorter "Summer Was Our Holy Place").

The presence of Baptiste on the album is more than welcome. His most recent own-name release is the highly recommended The Last Trane (Edition, 2017). It is time someone made Baptiste an offer he cannot refuse and got him into a studio to record a new disc.

Stevenson is launching Faithful One at London's Jazz Caf�� on Friday 31 March 2023. Baptiste will not be in the lineup that night, but his replacement will be rising tenor star

Ruben Fox

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Ruben Fox. The rest of the band will be as on the album. It promises to be a good gig.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Foreword; Guilty By Association; Prayer; To Be Seen; Safe Passage; Thank You, Thank You God; Summer Was Our Holy Place; He Has Made Me Whole; Faithful One; Faithful One (Reprise); Afterword.

Personnel

Sultan Stevenson

piano

Jacob Gryn

bass

Joel Waters

drums

Denys Baptiste

saxophone

Josh Short

trumpet

Additional Instrumentation

Denys Baptiste - tenor saxophone (1, 3, 7, 9, 10); Josh Short: trumpet (1, 3, 7, 9, 10).

Album information

Title: Faithful One | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Whirlwind Recordings

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