Steve Lodder, born Stephen John Lodder, (b. St. Helier, Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

, April 10, 1951), is a British keyboardist, composer, and organist. He played piano as a child and took up organ at age 14. He studied organ at Gonville and Caius College, and after completing his studies he taught music and wrote for film and television.

Career

Lodder became active in jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 music, playing with Maggie Nicols

Maggie Nicols

Maggie Nicols , is a Scottish free-jazz and improvising vocalist, dancer, and performer.-Early life and career:...

, John Etheridge

John Etheridge

John Michael Glyn Etheridge is a British jazz/fusion guitarist associated with the Canterbury Scene....

, Harry Beckett

Harry Beckett

Harold Winston "Harry" Beckett was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player.-Biography:A resident in the UK since 1954, Harry Beckett had an international reputation. In 1961, he played with Charles Mingus in the film All Night Long. In the 1960s he worked and recorded within the band of bass...

, and Dierdre Cartwright. He toured with George Russell in the 1980s, and in 1989 accompanied Carol Grimes

Carol Grimes

Carol Grimes is a smooth jazz and world music singer.Grimes came to prominence in 1969 as a member of Delivery, associated with the Canterbury Scene. During the 1970s she performed regularly on the London blues circuit with her band The London Boogie Band...

; later that year he toured with Simply Red

Simply Red

Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...

.

Since 1989 Lodder has worked with Andy Sheppard

Andy Sheppard

Andy Sheppard is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, George Russell and Steve Swallow.-Biography:Sheppard was born in Warminster,...

, on several projects (including Soft on the Inside, Co-Motion, Inclassifiable, and 20th century Saxophones). He plays synthesizer on some of Sheppard's work. He has led his own small ensembles since 1992. In 1994 he accompanied Ernestine Anderson

Ernestine Anderson

Ernestine Anderson is an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than five decades, she has recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She has sung at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Monterey Jazz Festival , as well as at jazz festivals all...

 and worked with Brazilian ensemble Nois.

From 1995 Lodder worked with Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

 on his Standing Stone

Standing stone

Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....

composition, which was premiered and recorded in 1997. In 1996 he recorded on church organ with saxophonist Mark Ramsden

Mark Ramsden

Mark Ramsden is a British writer, composer, producer and musician. He studied at Leeds Music College becoming a virtuoso saxophonist and flautist...

. He returned to tour with George Russell from 1997, and was with Carla Bley

Carla Bley

Carla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...

 in 1998 for performances of Escalator Over the Hill

Escalator over the Hill

Escalator over the Hill is mostly referred to as a jazz opera, but it was released as a "chronotransduction" with "words by Paul Haines, adaptation and music by Carla Bley, production and coordination by Michael Mantler", performed by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra.-History:Escalator over the Hill...

. His first release under his own name was 2001's Bout Time 2.

Books

• Stevie Wonder: A Musical Guide to the Classic Albums by Steve Lodder (2005)
• Totally Interactive Keyboard Bible by Steve Lodder, Janette Mason (2008)
• Classic Hammond Organ: Know the Players, Play the Music by Steve Lodder (2008)
• The Hammond Organ Key Master by Steve Lodder (2008)

Sources

• Gary W. Kennedy, "Steve Lodder". Grove Jazz online.
• Interview with Jazzwise.