Steven Lugerner's SLUGish Ensemble

SLUGish Ensemble is an amoeba-like band under the direction of composer & multi-instrumentalist Steven Lugerner. Their music utilizes traditional acoustic instruments to create layers of pocketed-grooves and melodies that blur the lines between pop, rhythm & blues, jazz improvisation and minimalism. SLUGish Ensemble’s debut album was named one of “The Best Jazz Albums of 2018” by Bandcamp, while Jazziz Magazine describes the album as “Northern California’s less extravagant answer to LA’s thriving crossover jazz-scene… original, earnest and immediate.”

As a band leader, Steven Lugerner has released multiple albums to critical acclaim. His compositions have been described as “a textured, nearly seamless blend of composition and improvisation” by The Village Voice - while The San Francisco Examiner as praised “Lugerner’s approach to making music is very much his own; and he seems to be pursuing it to impressive advantage.” In a relatively short period of time, 30-year-old Bay Area native Steven Lugerner has collaborated with a heavyweight roster of jazz masters including, Grammy nominated pianist Fred Hersch, pioneering pianist Myra Melford; drum legends Albert “Tootie” Heath, Matt Wilson, John Hollenbeck and Allison Miller; saxophonists Jane Ira Bloom, Dayna Stephens and Anat Cohen ; trumpeter Ralph Alessi, flutist Jamie Baum and bassist Todd Sickafoose. Lugerner also works full-time at the Stanford Jazz Workshop as Faculty Director, and he is also the director of Slow & Steady Records, a non-profit record label dedicated to showcasing west coast creative music.