Jazz arranging · Contemporary & Hybrid Jazz
StevenFeifke
b. 1990 arranger · composer · orchestrator
Feifke's arranging style demonstrates sophisticated understanding of jazz history combined with contemporary approaches.
- Predominant era
- Contemporary & Hybrid Jazz
- Lifespan
- b. 1990
- Signature
- iridescent color
Bio · 30 words
Steven Feifke is a young pianist and arranger representing the newest generation of jazz arrangers. He studied music formally and has won multiple arranging competitions including ASCAP and Downbeat honors.
01
Musical style
Sound DNA
Five shared dimensions make the arranger’s musical priorities visible at a glance.
Iridescent
Instrumental color leads the design.
Compact
Ideas arrive in tightly packed frames.
Expansive
Wide spans define the orchestral frame.
Layered
Several musical planes coexist.
Propulsive
Rhythm actively drives the architecture.
02
Orchestration
At the
arranging desk
“Small Hours,” orchestrated in the style of Steven Feifke. Hear the parts, follow the score, and examine the decisions inside each chord.
Original miniature
Small Hours
8 bars · C major · 4/4 Swing eighths · 2:1
Piano leads a sequence of independent inner lines, open section harmony and a coordinated ensemble finish. This eight-bar setting uses quarter-note walking bass beneath piano.
Choose Play to hear the recorded ensemble.
The passage
Read what you hear
All parts at sounding pitch · middle C = C4 · eighth notes follow the selected feel. Select a bar to inspect or replay it.
Inside the ensemble
Listen by part
Combine Solo buttons to hear a voicing or a doubling. Mute removes a part from the mix.
Downloads include every part at concert pitch. MIDI includes the selected tempo and swing feel.
Bar 01 · I · tonic
Cmaj9
Solo the inner reeds first, then follow their change from separate lines to the final full-section rhythm.
Sounding pitches
High to low · muted parts are dimmed · note releases can leave a rest between attacks.
| Part | Pitch | Chord role |
|---|
From the arranging bookshelf Sebesky · Nestico
This original Steven Feifke study applies the books’ approach of examining voicings, registers and instrumental combinations. It illustrates one facet of the artist’s work in a reduced ensemble; it is not a transcription or a reproduction of a book example. The melody and eight-bar progression remain the same throughout the artist collection.
- Don Sebesky, The Contemporary Arranger: “Combining the Woodwinds,” printed pp. 69–70 (PDF pp. 78–79), compares balance at different registers. “Voicing the Strings,” beginning on printed p. 124 (PDF p. 133), discusses distributing string voices. “Combining Strings with Winds,” printed p. 155 (PDF p. 164), demonstrates how a flute changes the color and balance of a string line.
- Sammy Nestico, The Complete Arranger: “Close [Block] Voicing” and “Semi-Open Voicing,” printed p. 24 (PDF p. 26), contrast a compact moving saxophone block with a voice dropped an octave. The part scores and pitch inspector let you examine the spacing used in this artist’s study.
Each artist’s arrangement uses separately recorded parts, so Solo and Mute reveal the same performance heard in the full ensemble. Winds, piano and supported orchestral instruments use MuseSounds; upright bass uses Karoryfer recordings. Other colors retain the credited libraries below. Tempo changes preserve concert pitch.
Performances rendered with free MuseSounds and the libraries below. Recording credits and instrument coverage.
Recordings: VSCO 2 CE (CC0), MTG Solo Saxophones (CC BY 4.0), and Karoryfer Meatbass (CC0). Additional sounds: FluidR3 GM (CC BY 3.0). Full credits and sample changes.
03
Music first
Scores & orchestras
Switch recordings to compare how this arranger’s musical priorities shape each orchestral profile.
Competition Winners and Early Work
Competition Winners and Early Work
Feifke's award-winning arrangements demonstrate remarkable gifts for someone early in career.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
New Generation Excellence
New Generation Excellence
Feifke's emergence represents jazz arranging's continued attraction of talented young musicians.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
Future of Jazz Arranging
Future of Jazz Arranging
Feifke and peers represent jazz arranging's future.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
04
Start here
Three essential albums
One line each—enough context to choose the next listen.
- 01 — Competition Winners and Early WorkSteven Feifke Feifke's award-winning arrangements demonstrate remarkable gifts for someone early in career.
- 02 — New Generation ExcellenceSteven Feifke Feifke's emergence represents jazz arranging's continued attraction of talented young musicians.
- 03 — Future of Jazz ArrangingSteven Feifke Feifke and peers represent jazz arranging's future.
Voicing & register
The first entries in each line are: Trumpet B4 (maj7); Tenor sax E4 (3); Trombone D4 (9); Alto sax G3 (5); Baritone sax B2 (maj7). Bass path: C2–G2–E2–G♯2.
Timbral combination
Alternate chairs enter half a beat apart, then each changes pitch two beats later. Solo adjacent lines to hear the interlocking movement. Trumpet · answer rests here, leaving the lead color exposed.
Voice leading & harmony
The opening E is the third. G–A–G makes the sixth a brief neighbor before the melody lands on D, the ninth.