Reviews

“Stephen Duke played the music with a gorgeous tone and moved easily between, say, the Coltranesque leaps and the supple fluidity of the Hodges pastiche.”

Allan Kozinn, New York Times

“Altogether too infrequently, it happens that a very rare performer, a master composer, and an equally outstanding piece come together to create one of those moments that define concerts and even entire events. Stephen Duke's performance of Larry Austin's Tableaux: Convolutions on a Theme was one such prize. Seldom do a performer, composer, a piece, a time and a place coalesce into a musical "rapture" as was the case with Tableaux. Just one of those rare moments that render a given day unforgettable.”

James Phelps, Computer Music Journal

"...a very left-of-center tribute to Thelonious Monk....Duke reminds us of the bebop revolutionary's strong impact on the avant-garde....[Duke] often brings an eerie sort of beauty to his 'outside' improvisations..."

Jazziz

“The performance by Steve Duke is remarkable. He effortlessly traverses the development of Bierce’s technical mastery of the saxophone throughout the chronology of the opera.  … Steve Duke magnificently performs a convincing array of blues and jazz creating a gifted partnership with the elegance of Mr. Waschka’s algorithms.”

Mary Hope Simoni, Computer Music Journal

“Steve Duke blistered and quasi-scatted through a virtuosic alto sax part controlled by tape in Luigi Ceccarelli's "Neuromante.”

Mara Helmuth, Array (International Computer Music Association)

“The first work, Tarogato! centers on the improvising of Stephen Duke on soprano saxophone, who produces eerie, evocative alien glides, musing slowly, with wonderful portamento. A strong initial impression is created in the first minutes. In the long term, the mood is consistently maintained, full of warmth, beautifully understated, backdrops formed from subtly processed tarogato, a Hungarian folk instrument.”

Nick Collins, Array (International Computer Music Association)