Jeremy Steig vs. Beastie Boys

[FR] Jeremy Steig est un jazzman à part : il joue exclusivement de la flûte. Né en 1942 à New York, il commence très tôt à apprendre la flûte à bec puis la flûte traversière avant de de jouer dans les clubs et d’en faire sa particularité. Victime d’un grave accident de moto à l’âge de 19 ans – qui lui paralyse la moitié du visage – il réussit malgré tout à reprendre son instrument grâce à une embouchure spéciale et un peu de chirurgie. Il enregistre ses deux premiers albums Flute Fever (Columbia, 1963) et Jeremy & The Satyrs (Reprise, 1968) avec cette fameuse embouchure avant de reprendre assez de forces pour jouer sans.

“Howlin’ For Judy” tiré de son troisième album Legwork (Solid State, 1969) est sans aucun doute le morceau le plus important de sa vie. Enregistré en seulement une journée il lui fera gagner plus d’argent que tous ses albums réunis. La raison ? C’est le sample de “Sure Shot” des Beastie Boys issu de l’album Ill Communication (1994, Capitol Records).

[UK] Jeremy Steig is an unusual jazzman: he only plays flute. Born in 1942 in New York City, he started to learn recorder and C flute in his teens before playing in clubs and making it his earmark. At the age of 19, Jeremy was involved in a serious motorcycle accident  – which left him paralyzed on one side of his face – but succeeded in playing again thanks to the help of a special mouthpiece and microscopic surgery. He recorded his first two albums Flute Fever (Columbia, 1963) and Jeremy & The Satyrs (Reprise, 1968) with this special mouthpiece before he developed enough muscles again to play without it.

“Howlin’ For Judy” is featured on his third album Legwork (Solid State, 1969) and is obviously the most important piece of his life. It was recorded in one day and he made more money from it than from any of his records. Why? It was sampled on the Beastie Boys’s hit single “Sure Shot” on their album Ill Communication (1994, Capitol Records).