Name: Sultan Stevenson
Occupation: Composer, pianist, keyboard player, improviser
Current event: Sultan Stevenson will perform at Cheltenham Jazz Festival which takes place Wednesday 1 – Monday May 6 2024. Other acts on the bill include Dionne Warwick, Robert Plant, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jack Savoretti, Snarky Puppy, Brad Mehldau Trio, Bettye Lavette, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Theo Croker, Lakecia Benjamin, Nubiyan Twist, Fatoumata Diawara and Zara McFarlane. For tickets, go here.

[Read our Sophie Ellis-Bextor interview]
[Read our Jack Savoretti interview]
[Read our Nubiyan Twist interview]
[Read our Theo Croker interview]

If you enjoyed this Sultan Stevenson interview and would like to know more about and stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram.



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in improvisation?

Yes most definitely. Some of my earliest musical experiences were from my dad – John Stevenson. He used to run a jazz radio show in Barbados (from where my family originates from) He used to get sent loads of different CD releases – from Wynton Marsalis to Vijay Iyer.

I soaked a lot of this up and it inspired me to take piano lessons.

When did you first consciously start getting interested in musical improvisation? Which artists, teachers, albums or performances involving prominent use of improvisation captured your imagination in the beginning?

The 1st fruit of inspiration came after watching a Jazz Casual video of the classic John Coltrane quartet on YouTube: McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, and John Coltrane. They were playing ‘Afro Blue’ and I was fixated by McCoy’s percussive comping style.

I immediately went to the piano to try and imitate his spirit and intension. I’ve been chasing that sound ever since.

Tell me about your instrument and/or tools, please. What made you seek it out, what makes it “your” instrument, and what are some of the nost important aspects of playing it?

I didn’t want to learn the piano at first. I desperately wanted to learn the saxophone. I asked my dad if he could ask the school if they had any saxophones / teachers but they didn’t. He advised me to learn the piano and maybe in secondary school I could learn saxophone.

Reluctantly I learnt the piano and in 10 mins of the lesson I had no more ambition to learn the saxophone. I had found my voice – the piano.

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument – is it an extension of your self/body, a partner and companion, a creative catalyst, a challenge to be overcome, something else entirely?

It’s an outlet for my creativity. I try to control the piano rather than it restricts me.

My approach and sound are quite different to others, similarly with composition.

Derek Bailey defined improvising as the search for material which is endlessly transformable. What kind of materials have turned to be particularly transformable and stimulating for you?

I’d agree with this statement! The only thing I’d add on to that is the idea of group interplay in jazz.

Playing with other people is probably something I enjoy more than playing solo! The conflict and resolution component is so reflective of everyday life.

Do you feel as though there are at least elements of composition and improvisation which are entirely unique to each? Based on your own work or maybe performances or recordings by other artists, do you feel that there are results which could only have happened through one of them?

I don’t think so! To me they are the same. One doesn’t come from the other.

They are equally as creative. It’s maybe a case that one is a faster process to the other.

When you're improvising, does it actually feel like you're inventing something on the spot – or are you inventively re-arranging patterns from preparations, practise or previous performances? What balance is there between forgetting and remembering in your work?

Improvising feels like solving an ever-changing puzzle, you can never complete it or be satisfied with it.

You are using prior knowledge to solve something so familiar yet fresh. It’s really a therapeutic experience.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your improvisations which you couldn't or wouldn't through other musical approaches? If so, which are these? What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to improvisation?

This is so true, the beauty in improvisation is you can’t hide. How you think / feel in that moment comes out.

It’s almost impossible to be non-authentic.

In terms of your personal expression and the experience of performance, how does playing solo compare to group improvisations?

Solo playing is deeper, it’s more personal as you are having a conversation with yourself. Whereas group performance is about balancing conflicting ideas.

In a live situation, decisions between creatives often work without words. From your experience and current projects, what does this process feel like and how does it work?

For me personally I’d like to think that my ego vanishes. It’s important to be present when playing if you aren’t your presenting a false opinion.

I like to feel like I’m free to delve into my inner most thoughts.

Stewart Copeland said: “Listening is where the cool stuff comes from. And that listening thing, magically, turns all of your chops into gold.” What do you listen for?

I like this a lot!

I feel as musicians we are trying to create a way of expression that is different to speech / writing. Words and language can be restrictive in ways music isn’t.

I listen to everything that isn’t me!

There can be surprising moments during improvisations – from one of the performers not playing a single note to another shaking up a quiet section with an outburst of noise. Have you been part of similar situations and how did they impact the performance from your point of view?

Silence, pacing, and drama are something my compositions live and die on.

I like composing material that isn’t overly restrictive for the players. I want their ideas and thoughts to come out. The silence facilities that.

I have always been fascinated by the many facets of improvisation but sometimes found it hard to follow them as a listener. Do you have some recommendations for “how to listen” in this regard?

Sometimes you can’t discern everything by listening. You must consider the body language of the players, the way they introduce the tunes also.

In a way, improvisations remind us of the transitory nature of life. When an improvisation ends, is it really gone, just like a cup of coffee? Or does it live on in some form?

It keeps going, it’s more than the notes. It’s a message that the listener can either accept or ignore.