Album Notes

Based in Los Angeles, Stephen Su is a contemporary and smooth jazz guitarist that has fused the styles of rock and jazz and incorporated rhythmic grooves to provide catchy melodies on his debut project, City Lights. This album offers a refreshing new sound that is inspirational and thought provoking to the listener.

In his long awaited debut project, City Lights is a compilation of pieces highlighting several styles from smooth jazz to contemporary jazz to jazz fusion all offering breathtaking melodies which have been inspired over the last decade. His technique and influences have been greatly shaped through his early years as a classically trained guitarist, as well as, having studied with renown musicians such as Hajime Kato, Ron Eschete, David Oakes and Beth Marlis at Musician’s Institute. His musical influences include Greg Howe, Norman Brown, George Benson, Larry Carlton, Pat Metheny, Joe Pass and Miles Davis.

Also featured on the project is Jim Goetsch on sax and keyboards with brief appearances on bass and drums. He began studies at North Texas State University where he played with classmates like Bob Belden, Lyle Mays, and Marc Johnson, later studying with jazz composer George Russell. After that came a tour with the blues legend Albert King. In recent years he moved into electronica as part of Demolition Squad and Biomechanique, and is now doing performances as Subversive Element. He considers his greatest learning experiences to have come from his long friendship with Joe Zawinul of Weather Report fame.