On their first outing for Steeplechase Records, Paraphrase (SCCD 33148), pianist Nicki Adams and saxophonist Michael Eaton introduced their duo, playing music from celebrated and genre-defining jazz composers: Coltrane, Hancock, Shorter, Monk, Hill, and Hagans. In both their arrangements and original music, they interwove elements and ideas from Western classical music, in large part through Adams’s sparkling piano playing and elegant pianistic textures drawn from Romantic piano literature.

Eaton and Adams are proud now to release The Transcendental, their second album for the Steeplechase LookOut Series, and the next step forward for the duo's developing mix of modern jazz and Third-Stream elements.

Composer Gunther Schuller coined "Third Stream" in 1961 to reflect a genre combining "the improvisational spontaneity and rhythmic vitality of jazz with the compositional procedures and techniques acquired in Western [classical] music". On The Transcendental, Adams and Eaton similarly look to classical inspirations, finding them in impressionist harmonic color, twelve tone abstraction, and minimalist rhythmic repetition.

SteepleChase’s March 2022 is featuring “Duo” settings. Here on our SteepleChase LookOut label we are proud to present two New York based young elite instrumentalists Nicki Adams (piano) and Michael Eaton (saxophone). They both share neo-classism in jazz as their formative background but they transcend beyond the categorization to something far more original and multifaceted. The album Paraphrase is a formidable presentation at this junction of time of how jazz has developed itself through its rich and diverse history.

Paraphrase, integrates divergent musical languages in a conversational style, integrating virtuosity, timbre and swing. Using modal and bebop standards as a template, the arrangements draw on Debussy's piano preludes, Bartók's piano etudes as well as Iranian Khush Rank rhythmic cycles. The originals highlight the personal and dialectical spirit of Eaton and Adams.

The collaborative essence of jazz ensures that the music is about making connections. These connections can be between individual musicians, different playing styles or even genres, as long as they are joined together in expressions through improvisation.

Brothers Nicki and Patrick Adams have a natural bond that most musicians can never approximate with their peers. Their common upbringing and interests have also given them the idea to blend the aural tradition of jazz with the more written one of classical, with a unique approach that makes their efforts seem buoyant and natural on their new recording, Lynx.

Originally from Prescott, Arizona, the Adams brothers both began playing piano early on at the behest of their parents. In middle school, the two entered the band program, and Patrick took up the trumpet. During high school, they discovered jazz under the guidance of master ceramicist/educator Heath Kreiger. Under Heath’s tutelage, Nicki and Patrick began to seriously focus on the craft, history and aesthetics of jazz improvisation. Heath’s unique approach to jazz education focused on developing a personal sound and left a lasting influence on the brothers.