Steve Coleman is a saxophone player and band leader from Chicago who is known for his ability to weave in spontaneous orchestrations and improvisation techniques into his playing. Growing up in the predominately African-American neighborhood of the South Side of Chicago, where music was "around all the time," Coleman was instilled with a strong sense of music from an early age. Learning the alto-saxophone at the age of 14, he modeled his approach after musical luminaries like Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. After gigging around Chicago and eventually moving to New York, where he would further refine and develop his characteristic sound, Coleman released his debut solo LP, Steve Coleman Group, in 1985 and the album helped establish him as one of the premier jazz-centric band leaders of his generation.
