Steven (Steve) Novosel (born 1940) is an American professional jazz bassist and educator whose 40-plus year career has spanned numerous genre, from traditional jazz to swing, bebop, mainstream and avant garde.

Early life and musical development

Born in

Farrell, Pennsylvania Farrell is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, along the Shenango River. The population was 4,258 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. History Once dubbed "The Magic City," Farrell sprang up pr ...

outside

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in 1940, Novosel is of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

heritage. He learned to play the piano as a child, including performing traditional Croatian folk songs learned from his family. He next studied trumpet in high school and his love of jazz inspired him to become a professional musician. Upon his graduation from high school Novosel went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to undertake three years of advanced trumpet study before being drafted and winning an audition to join the US Army Band at Ft. Myer,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, outside

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

While in the service he discovered that there were many established jazz trumpet players in the DC-

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

area but a shortage of bassists, so he began to learn the bass by participating in the ubiquitous jam sessions in the region at that time. Taken under the wing of DC saxophonist Charlie Hampton, Novosel soon began playing gigs in DC and Baltimore. Novosel also studied the double bass formally with ex-

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Symphony classical bassist Thomas Martin, (future Principal Bassist with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

,) who at that time was also serving his military obligation in the US Army Band at Ft. Myer. Although left-handed, Novosel mastered the double bass playing it in a right-hand set up.

Professional career

By 1966, Novosel had left the service and was working as a full-time professional bassist in DC, New York and other east coast venues with a variety of groups, most notably as the replacement for

Walter Booker Walter Booker (December 17, 1933 – November 24, 2006) was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and ...

in the acclaimed JFK Quartet. That same year, multi-reed player

Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The year ...

was searching for a new bassist and Kirk's drummer

Jimmy Hopps James Edward Hopps Jr. (born 1939) is an American jazz drummer. Although he never recorded as a leader, he worked extensively with Roland Kirk, Charles Tolliver, Stanley Cowell, and Pharoah Sanders during some of their well known sessions. He also ...

recommended Novosel for the job. In 1967, Novosel recorded with Kirk on the latter's highly acclaimed '' The Inflated Tear'' LP. Novosel remained with Kirk for the next three years and toured widely, including a successful Eastern Europe tour. Novosel had by this time become acquainted with saxophonist David Fathead Newman and appeared (playing electric bass) on Newman's funk-oriented 1971 LP, '' Captain Buckles''. This led to a long association between Novosel and Newman. Over the next 30 years, Novosel performed with, recorded with and/or toured with a veritable Who's Who of Jazz, including

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and rhythm and blues, R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in whi ...

, the

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...

Trio, the

Red Norvo Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His reco ...

Trio,

Stanley Cowell Stanley Cowell (May 5, 1941 – December 17, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and co-founder of the Strata-East Records label. Early life Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became interest ...

Larry Willis Lawrence Elliott Willis (December 20, 1942 – September 29, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz, bebop, and avant-garde jazz, avant-garde. Willis was b ...

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually co ...

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album '' Jazz Samba' ...

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

, James Moody,

Jimmy Cobb Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb (January 20, 1929May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. At the time of his death, he had been the band's last surviving member for nearly thirty years. He was a ...

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelho ...

Norman Simmons Norman Simmons (1915–2004) was a DNA research pioneer."Obituaries". ''Harvard Dental Bulletin'' 10(4): 28. Fall 2004-Winter 2005. Simmons worked with Elkan Blout on proteins and polypeptides and was also recognized for isolating a structural ...

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

Steve Turre Stephen Johnson Turre (born September 12, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz trombonist and a pioneer of using Conch (instrument), seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For ...

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

Tal Farlow Talmage Holt Farlow (June 7, 1921 – July 25, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist. He was nicknamed "Octopus" because of how his large, quick hands spread over the fretboard. As Steve Rochinski notes, "Of all the guitarists to emerge in th ...

Blue Mitchell Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and Blu ...

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

Buck Hill Buck Hill is a ski hill in Burnsville, Minnesota, a suburb south of Minneapolis. It is one of three ski areas in the Twin Cities metropolitan area; the others are Afton Alps and Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area. Buck Hill opened in 1954 and offe ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

Harry Sweets Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard back ...

Eddie Lockjaw Davis Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

Jake Hanna Jake Hanna (April 4, 1931 – February 12, 2010) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States. Hanna first performed in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the house drummer at Storyville nightclub in Boston, ...

, and vocalists

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

Mavis Rivers Mavis Chloe Rivers (19 May 1929 – 29 May 1992) was a Samoan and New Zealand jazz singer. She was born in Apia, Samoa, as one of thirteen children to a musical family. In 1954, she moved to the United States. She married Glicerio Reyes "David" ...

Shirley Horn Shirley Valerie Horn (May 1, 1934 – October 20, 2005) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and othe ...

and

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

. Novosel has also participated in some 20 recording projects with avant garde saxophonist and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

musicologist Andrew White since the 1960s. He has also performed in the Washington theater productions of ''

A Raisin In The Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...

'' and ''

Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope ''Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope'' is a musical revue first staged in 1971 with music, lyrics and book by Micki Grant. It was originally produced by Edward Padula. Background and productions The all-singing, all-dancing show focuses on the Afric ...

''. He has appeared numerous times at the "North Sea Jazz Festival", at the "East Coast Jazz Festival" and the "Floating Jazz Festival", as well as The Kennedy Center, The Corcoran Gallery, The Smithsonian, Wolftrap and club venues from coast to coast. He has toured Europe and Eastern Europe and performed in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

with the

Trio. In 2001 he led a group that included guitarist

Joe Cohn Joseph Mark Cohn (born December 28, 1956) is an American jazz guitarist. Career The son of Al Cohn, he started to play the guitar in his teens, transcribing from recordings featuring Art Tatum, Thad Jones, and Clifford Brown. Besides taking les ...

on a concert tour of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, including

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Novosel has also been an adjunct Instructor of Double Bass Performance at both

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

and the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...

for many years, and he remains an active voice on the national jazz scene. Novosel was married to singer

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

from 1965 to 1972.

Discography

With the David Bond Quintet * ''The Early Show'' (CIMPoL, 2007) With

* ''

Blues for the Viet Cong ''Blues for the Viet Cong'' is the debut album led by American jazz pianist Stanley Cowell recorded in 1969 and first released on the British Polydor label then later released on the Freedom label.Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

* ''Live at the Floating Jazz Festival'' (Chiaroscuro, 1991) * ''Christmas Stockin' Stuffer'' (Capri, 1992) With

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

* ''The Versatile Eddie Harris'' (Atlantic, 1981) With

* ''The John Hicks Trio & Strings'' (Mapleshade, 2002) With

* '' Loving You'' (Verve, 1997) * ''

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song "Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Dona ...

'' (Verve, 1995) With

* ''High Fly'' (Live at E.J.'s, 1982) With

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

* ''

'' (ATCO, 1971) With

* '' The Inflated Tear'' (Atlantic, 1968) With

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and ...

* '' Captain Buckles'' (Cotillion, 1971) *''

Under a Woodstock Moon ''Under a Woodstock Moon'' is an album by saxophonist David Newman recorded in 1996 and released on Herbie Mann's Kokopelli label.Chillin''' (HighNote, 1998) * ''

Keep the Spirits Singing ''Keep the Spirits Singing'' is an album by saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman recorded in 2000 and released on the HighNote label the following year. Reception In his review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow states "David "Fathead" Newman is in top for ...

'' (HighNote, 2002) With

Charles Tolliver Charles Tolliver (born 1942) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and co-founder of Strata East Records. Biography Tolliver was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1942 and moved with his family to New York City when he was 10. During his chi ...

* '' The Ringer'' (Polydor, 1969) * ''

Compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

'' (Strata-East, 1977) With Andrew White * ''Passion Flower'' (Andrew's Music, 1974) With

*'' Portraits in Ivory and Brass'' (Mapleshade, 1992

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

with

* ''

Sunshower A sunshower or sun shower is a meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining. A sunshower is usually the result of accompanying winds associated with a rain storm sometimes miles away, blowing the airborne raindrops int ...

'' (Mapleshade, 2001) * ''Sanctuary'' (Mapleshade, 2003)

Bibliography

* Hittle, Jon B. (2004). "Capital Bassist: Steve Novosel's Jazz Journey." Bass World Journal,

International Society of Bassists The International Society of Bassists (ISB) is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization for anybody who enjoys the double bass. The society was founded in 1967 by Gary Karr as the International Institute for String Bass (IISB). After a two-year hiat ...

. Volume 28 - Series 2: p. 15-19 * Kruth, John (2000). Bright Moments: The Life and Times of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. New York, NY: Welcome Rain Publishers. p. 76. .

External links

Mapleshaderecords Steve NovoselSteve Novosel at DiscogsAll Music Steve Novosel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novosel, Steve 1940 births Living people American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists People from Farrell, Pennsylvania American jazz musicians Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians