Stephen Lee (Part 2)
Stephen Lee discusses gigs, church checks, and why your social life shouldn’t practice more than you do.
1. Is playing still your main thing?
Yes. I still play as my main thing—jazz, church, and other gigs—and build other work around that. Teaching and workshop work are important, but playing is still at the center.
2. If you’re involved in other music things, what are those?
A big one is education. I run programs like Memphis Jazz Workshop for young players, coach combos, and help students get ready for college. I’ve also done a lot of church music directing over the years. And I’ve put out my own records—I started writing seriously in New York around 2006–2007, and my first all‑original album came out around 2012.
Stand by Me (2013) Stephen Lee’s first original album.
3. What styles of music do you play?
A mix of jazz, gospel, R&B/soul, and church music. I grew up on Walter Hawkins, Andraé Crouch, Luther Vandross, Earth, Wind & Fire, Yellowjackets, Al Jarreau, and straight‑ahead jazz, so all of that is in there. When I write or play, you might hear church harmony, jazz lines, and R&B feel all in the same tune.
4. Which one is your passion genre?
I’d say jazz, but jazz fed by gospel and soul. That moment when I heard Cyrus Chestnut live, swinging hard, is when I knew, “This is what I want to do.” So the passion is jazz that still carries that church and R&B story‑telling energy.
In The Moment (2024) Stephen Lee
5. What opportunity do you want to have, that you haven’t had yet – what’s your dream gig?
I’d love to play the major international jazz festivals—places like North Sea and Nice. I don’t want to live on the road 15 days a month anymore, but I do want those big festival stages, where you bring your own music to a serious listening audience from all over the world.
6. What do you wish a professional told you, when you were in high school?
A few things:
Be careful with social organizations. Fraternities and all that can be great, but don’t let them take over your life like I did for a while.
Protect your time. Practice and preparation matter more than you think.
Be professional early. Be on time, be prepared, be respectful.
And if you can already play at a high level in high school, understand that a big part of your future is just staying focused, networking, and saying yes to opportunities. The playing is the foundation—but your habits decide how far it goes. 𝄂
Click here for Part 1 of Stephen Lee’s interview.
Getting the Gig exists to surface exactly this kind of detail—so high school musicians (and their parents) can see what real, workable music lives actually look like.