Steve Eliovson

[Brownian Motion]

This South African guitarist recorded an album, "Dawn Dance", for ECM in 1980 or '81 and then disappeared. Does anyone have any information at all about him?

[7/4]

This South African guitarist recorded an album, "Dawn Dance", for ECM in 1980 or '81 and then disappeared. Does anyone have any information at all about him?

No, but it's unreleased on CD in the USA and as far as I can remember a great disk. It seems like that is it for his commercial recordings. Some one prove me wrong!!!

[Brownian Motion]

It is a great disk. When I was doing the overnight jazz show on WDBS in Durham 20 years ago I used "Dawn Dance" as my out theme. It was perfect for 6 Am.

[Brownian Motion]

Someone at Jazzcorner found this in Google Groups:

Date: Dec 15, 2006 11:47

I just got back from Cape Town, S Africa...

I spent a week and a 1/2 making a nuisance of myself at various

gigs/jams. I got to sit in with Bensonphile, Richard Caesar,

Wes-o-phile, Alvin Dyers and other sundry bands/guys.

So on saturday I was invited to a party at great pianist Robert Payne's

pad. There were a few people there, and one guy was introduced as

"Steve". About 1/2 way thru the nite I heard "Steve" mention recording

in Germany. I tentatively asked him for his last name, and his response

FLOORED me: Eliovson. This was the legendary Steve Eliovson who

recorded on ECM in '80 and promptly vanished. HE is a legend amongst SA

gtr players, and here he was in front of me alive and well !!!!! He

told me lots of stories of hanging with Towner and Abercrombie et al,

and how the exigencies of survival forced him to abandon his gtrs in

NY storage NEVER to return to music- sad freaking story....Anyway I

pulled out my gtr and he played a bit. Rusty, but with glimpses of a

Mclaughlin style...then I took over and showed him how to do it

properly ;-)

He told me he was in Europe to record his 2nd ECM date and the weekend

before recording commenced he broke a leg ski-ing in the Alps. It all

began to fall apart for him after that. They postponed the rec. date,

and Steve went back to NYC where he was living at the time. He said he

couldn't really play gigs or get around with a cast up to his hip in NY

and he was living on someone's couch. He decided to store his

belongings and head back to SA to regroup. He never got back....and it

seems he lost momentum...I could sense the sad regret/loss behind his

eyes...He mentioned hanging with Richie Bierach in those days, and that

Richie was living in a literal "shoebox": one room with barely space to

move.He also recalled jams with Towner and Abercrombie where they all

got so stoned that guys were literally falling over while playing...

His sad story reconfirmed to me that if you can simply find a way to

keep playing music in your life (never mind being a "star" or

"famous")you can count yourself lucky...

[Mark13]

Really sad to learn that Steve Eliovson died earlier this year in his native South-Africa. He was only 66.

Ever since I picked up his sole ECM-effort album I've wondered how and why he dropped out of sight so quickly after its release in 1982. Dawn Dance is every bit as great as the epochal solo- (and duo)-albums by Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie. At least in my book. How deeply tragic that this record will remain the only testament to his talent.

 

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Mark13

[mjzee]

There's a photo on the "ECM Records" Facebook group of his tombstone.  He evidently lived a troubled life.