Selected Reviews & Press Clips AAJ - Interview - Steve Hass - A World of Rhythms R.J. DeLuke ...NYC-based Hass absorbs every kind of music and rhythm he can, part of the journey this artist has been on for many years. His thirst for knowledge and his open mind are serving him well, having created a style that can handle any musical situation. If evidence is needed, there’s his debut CD, released in June. Traveler is a blend of different songs and styles, chosen by Hass, driven by his percussion and arranged by his vision....The CD is a strong debut. It invites the listener in subtly, not with drum pyrotechnics, and the production values are first-rate. Read full story I well remember a sparsely-attended Jazz Cafe gig about three years ago. What stayed most in my memory was Ravi's obsession with his drummer. Just as his father had a totally unique, creative relationship with Elvin Jones, so also has his son, but with someone who sounds most like a heavy drummer and who dominated the quartet. Maybe that's unfair, because Steve Hass also has a strong feel for jazz. He is one of the driving forces on this new album... Tony Hall Jazzwise Ravi Coltrane - Mad 6 Review Read full story (PDF) The like-father-like-son tag just doesn't stick to 38-year-old Ravi. His tone on soprano and tenor eschews daddy's treacherous shards in favor of curved contours. Meanwhile, schizo-drummer Steve Hass strokes like the devil, flipping between chattering old-school jazz and loose-limbed funk worthy of a hip-hop anthem. Joe Vanderford Independent Weekly Ravi Coltrane - Mad 6 Review "Like his dad, Ravi has a gift for choosing drummers. Steve Hass propels two different quartet lineups with intelligence and a formidable technique which suggests he's been listening to the cutups of drum 'n' bass as much as Tony Williams or Roy Haynes. Like Billy Kilson or Marvin Smith, he's always up to something worth listening to, while on the slower tunes he's beautifully unobtrusive. Mingus's "Self Portrait in Three Colours" is especially lovely, with George Colligan's plangent piano underpinning an emotive, considered solo from the leader. Similarly Monk's "Ask Me Now" (opening with sweet solo statement from bassist James Genus) gets a sympathetic treatment." Peter Marsh BBC Ravi Coltrane - Mad 6 Review "Hass dominates. He is polyrhythmic, powerful, and hard-swinging and hard-funking. Many of the grooves inhabited some unusual space in between swing and funk, very tightly controlled at all times." Tom Chandler Rasputin Music's Manifesto Magazine San Fransisco "At Catalina Bar and Grill, feet tapped and percussive beats bounced from wall to wall courtesy of a rhythm section that also has a voice and signature of their own. On drums, Steve Hass introduced the crowd to a grooving and polyrhythmic display of rhythmic emotion that I have yet to see at Jazz shows. Usually I am hearing the amazing talent and fascinating skill that is so characteristic of Jazz drummers. But tonight, although there is no doubt that Hass is inspired by the greats, he added a hip hop feel to the music that propelled the music to move in interesting and new directions." Eric S. Podell The Jazz Report International Magazine Los Angeles "Steve Hass is an extraordinary jazz/funk drummer." Wendy E. Ross JazzReview.com "Hass was impressively busy while holding down his exquisite slow groove" Jon Garelick Boston Phoenix '98 "On Duke Ellington's 'Caravan,' Steve Hass' slinky, elastic funk beat, is a highlight." Owen Cordle The North Carolina Observer "Drummer Steve Hass managed to tease inventive grooves out of the minimalistic repetition." Michelle Mercer Bell Atlantic Jazz Review "Steve Hass, a powerful drummer who found textures alternative to those of Elvin Jones." Tony Gieske The Hollywood Reporter "Drummer Steve Hass battled the hall's acoustics, tamed them, and played an adventurous show of post-bop small-group jazz." Jon Garelick The Boston Phoenix '00 "Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie didn't make the gig as was advertised, Steve Hass however was a capable replacement who understood exactly how to make the rhythms drive the groove." Bob Young The Boston Herald "The concert's high points came when Ben-Ari, feeding off the crisp and inventive power of drummer Steve Hass, unloaded sheets of slashing, swooping notes that built into frantic crescendos in A Song for My Father and the intriguingly minimalist Moving On." Doug Fischer The Ottawa Citizen "The exquisite syncopation of Hass' percussion shone in solos, but was subtly muted to permit Miri's virtousity to predominate at all other times." Emmett Evans The Island Sun Friday, September 28, 2001 JAZZ REVIEW Ravi Coltrane Live At Catalina's "There was, in fact, at least one lengthy passage in which the rhythm section trio--Hass, Hall and Colligan--generated an explosive collective improvisation filled with galvanizing rhythms and brilliantly intuitive creative interaction. Even Coltrane was smiling when he stepped back on stage following an enthusiastic burst of audience applause. Another piece delivered a series of marvelously adroit improvisations in 5/4, held together by Hass' crisply confident drumming." Don Heckman Special to The New York Times