Whirlwind is excited to announce the signing of pianist and composer Sultan Stevenson who’ll release his debut solo album Faithful One on March 24, 2023 in CD / DL / and Limited Edition, 180g 2xLP in gatefold artwork.  The album features Sultan’s band with Jacob Gryn (double bass), Joel Waters (drums), Josh Short (trumpet) and special guest Denys Baptiste on tenor saxophone

Sultan had been working on his compositions for close to 3 years now. His love for composition was born in 2020’s lockdown and manifested in the single release of ‘To be seen’ which is also featured on his forthcoming album. What set things into motion for ‘Faithful One’ was an email he received at the top of 2022. From someone who came out to see his sold out 2021 London Jazz Fest show. They asked ‘I love your music… is there any chance you could release an album or something?’ This prompted him to get planning: repertoire, rehearsals, studios, dates, etc. What is soon to be released is much like a representation of everything Sultan is musically, how he views music. This is filtered through the jazz perspective. What is apparent in Sultan’s writing is the blues sensibility, the feeling of swing and the group dialogue.

‘Faithful One’ should be listened to as a journey, it should be conceptualised as a great movie or piece of literature. Each track and its placement have a unique purpose. The 1st track is a foretelling of the events to come. The following 3 tracks can be viewed as 3 different glimpses of the same message, each conveying a sense of build/growth in their own unique way. What follows are 3 tracks written to convey a sense of stability, their musical narrative contrast to the tracks before them. The title track is the climax of this entire narrative. The last track is best thought as being the judgement, the completion of this journey. Essential to understanding the work is Sultan’s relationship with the Lord, it manifests itself in subtle aspects of this work.

In September of 2022 Sultan Stevenson and Lottie Mac collaborated on creating the cover art for ‘Faithful One’. Eventually the shoot day went beyond his initial brief. It incorporated: painting, dance, speech, visual arts and much more.

This is what Lottie Mac, the artistic director for the project writes ‘From first hearing about Sultan's music from his Dad at his vinyl stall to making the artwork for Sultan's debut album feels like a true full-circle moment, meant to be. ‘Faithful One’ is a journey for the listener and through the piece seen on the front cover, sitting smoothly behind Sultan you can see the journey I too went on whilst listening. Little dabs, large strokes, a bleeding background, and grouped marks on the canvas are all a response to different moments captured within different songs off the album. My practice as an artist is always a response, to emotion, social cause, nature, and sound so working on this piece in collaboration with Sultan was the perfect match.

Enjoy the journey ...’

The visual narrative of ‘Faithful One’

Sultan Stevenson at The Jazz Café for the album launch of ‘Faithful One’ 31/03/23

On March 31st 2023 Sultan launched his debut album ‘Faithful One’ at The Jazz Café. The show was a sell out, it was full of an audience of all ages, jazz fans and new comers to the genre alike. Gordon Wedderburn was both MC and DJ for the night. The night also featured the young talents of ‘Oreglo’ who played a superb opening set.

Below photos by Jenniah-Mae Lynch and Noah Black. Musicians on the night: Sultan Stevenson (keys) Jacob Gryn (bass) Joel Waters (drums) Josh Short (trumpet) and special guest Ruben Fox (tenor saxophone)

Sultan Stevenson Trio with special guest Denys Baptiste tour of Ireland. October 2023.

In October of 2023 The Sultan Stevenson Trio and special guest Denys Baptiste embarked on a 5 date tour around Ireland. This tour was put on by Music Network. The trio was reunited with Denys Baptiste who featured on ‘Faithful One’ recorded in 2022 and released in March 2023. The band had their 1st concert at The Sugar Club in Dublin. They delivered a sublime performance of 2 sets. The audience was instantly won over and the show set a high standard for the remaining 4 shows which included The Cork Jazz Festival.

This was Sultan’s first time playing outside of the UK, it was a great way to round off what has been a breakthrough year for the pianist. It started with a sold out Jazz Cafe show in March followed by many gigs around the UK including Birmingham, Wales and Cambridge. In July Sultan took his trio (Jacob Gryn and Joel Waters) + Josh Short (trumpeter on ‘Faithful One’) to Love Supreme festival performing to thousands of people late on Friday.

The band will be making many more international outings in 2024 including SXSW in March, Jazz Ahead in April and Poland in July to name but a few. Stevenson is bringing the music and message of Faithful One far and wide.