• Steve Nelson Quartet at The Side Door: CT Examiner

 

• Steve Nelson, preferred vibes player of jazz greats, makes rare appearance in Kalamazoo: WMUK Interview by Cara Lieurance

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• 5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Vibraphone: "Steve Nelson is one of the most important vibraphonists in jazz, with a career as a band leader and as a side person for names like Jackie McLean, Bobby Watson, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, David “Fathead” Newman, Renee Rosnes, Jeremy Pelt and more...I always loved the warmth and care that Steve Nelson plays with, particularly on ballads. As an improviser, Steve’s influence from Milt Jackson is clear in his blues lines. I love his approach to melodic improvisation.... I admire the cats who can play bebop lines with technical accuracy and still have melodic integrity and purpose. Steve is one of the baddest!" The  New York Times, Nikara Warren

 

• Rehabilitation of a Vibraphonist: "Nelson’s set list on any given night reveals the complexities of his instrument—and the depth of his skill. He grips as few as two mallets, holding them like drum sticks, and as many as four, sliding them between his fingers so they protrude like the claws of Wolverine. He employs ghost notes, grace notes, staccato notes, legato notes, single-stroke rolls, double-stroke sticking, and alternate sticking. He navigates chord changes, key changes, and turns of phrases. He knows when to tap the vibraphone, when to clobber the vibraphone, and when to silence the vibraphone, affording his fellow musicians their time and space." Pulitzer Center, Nathan Seigelaub​​

 

• The Full On Nelson: The New York City Jazz Record birthday feature on Steve Nelson, Russ Musto​

 

• A Common Language: "...one of the best career efforts of the number one vibes player of his generation, with more than a little help from his exceptional Dutch friends. Flophouse Jazz,  Francois van de Linde​

 

• In Central Park, Mid Pandemic, Jazz was Alive, Atop Sacred Ground:  NPR​

 

• School’s in Session, but Don’t You Dare Take Notes: "Mr. Nelson is one of the most extraordinary musicians in jazz...."  The New York Times, Ben Ratliff​

 

• Ted Panken on Music, Politics and the Arts: The still waters metaphor also applies to Nelson’s gestural vocabulary—he coils over the keyboard, jabbing and weaving with an economy of moves to create asynchronous punctuations that bring to mind Thelonious Monk’s pouncing comp..." Ted Panken

 

• Steve Nelson - Sound Effect: "Throughout Sound-Effect, Nelson distinguishes himself as an outstanding soloist, perhaps even elevating his game a notch in the presence of such a regal rhythm section." Jazz Times, Bill Milkowski​

 

• Steve Nelson - The Center of the Music: Nelson salutes Miller on his charming new disc, Brothers Under the Sun (HighNote), on which he leads a crackling quartet...."  Jazz Times, John Murph

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• Echoes of an Era Offer a Common Language: "...on "Sophisticated Lady," the Duke Ellington ballad. He crafted a harmonically sumptuous prelude, using four mallets; moved on to spidery, upsweeping arpeggios; and then, over a breezy double time, fixated on one jangly cluster, in the style of Thelonious Monk. It was masterly, it was playful, and it swung. That effervescent artistry is the reason to see Mr. Nelson's band..."  The New York Times, Nate Chinen​

 

• Steve Nelson Quartet - New Beginnings: "...exemplifies the combination of mature craftsmanship and youthful vigor necessary to make cogent mainstream jazz." Jazz Times, Bill Shoemaker​

 

• East Liberty Native Steve Nelson Among Jazz's Top Vibraphonists: "Pittsburgh is well known for its expatriate jazz musicians who expanded the vocabulary of instruments like the drums (Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke) and piano (Mary Lou Williams, Earl "Fatha" Hines), to name a few. Less common is the vibraphone, but one of the more highly regarded players of the instrument is East Liberty native Steve Nelson." Pittsburgh City Paper, Mike Shanley​

 

• Vibraphoning Home - Steve Nelson Returns for Rare Pittsburgh Concert:  Pittsburg Post and Gazette.

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