Bio

Last Updated on Sunday, 29 April 2012 19:55 Thursday, 12 May 2011 16:56

Guitarist/improvisor/oudist/sarodiyya Mustafa Stefan Dill was born in New Mexico to a Mexican mother and German-Irish father. His mutli-national and cross-cultural childhood experiences include strong memories with Lebanese relatives in Mexico and formative years in the culturally diverse city of Montpellier, France.

His initial music - an intense and unique convergence of traditional flamenco and Middle Eastern elements and modern free improvisation - won critical praise with recordings such as Warning Clothed in Bright Robes of Dawn, Sangre Del Rio and Six Peaces (his debut on the oud), paving the way for his hallmark approach of combining modern and traditional improvising techniques within a deep immersion of various cultural musical traditions.

A guitarist for over 30 years, he earned a Masters degree in composition from the New England Conservatory in Boston, studying with Joe Maneri.

He has performed in solo concerts throughout Europe since 1992 in both improvised music and guitar circles at such venues and festivals as FMP's Total Music Meeting, Wirral Guitar Festival, Paderborn Guitar Festival, Zuid Nederlands Jazz Festival, Festival HispanoAmericano de la Guitarra, Erlbach, Nickelsdorf, and others.


He has performed with artists such as Cecil Taylor (special invitation as part of the Ensemble, Knitting Factory, May 1996), Guus Janssen (Eindhoven 1995), and more recently with mJane and Out of Context.

He also maintained the adventurous energy of classic progressive rock and free jazz in such projects as the Stefan Dill Trio's release Run For Heaven (2002).

For the past  eight years Dill teamed up with percussionist Jefferson Voorhees for the Sama Duo, a groove-oriented energetic jamrock improv/ free jazz duet with a South Asian  and Middle Eastern twist. The group evolved from an early  acoustic format with sarod and tabla to a wider range of textures with fretless electric guitar and drum set.

The Duo was chosen in 2006 to provide the music score for the independent film "Birth of a Pillow" by director Sharmy Pandey, from Kolkata, India. The film is a 47 minute feature with no dialogue, requiring a continuous music score that would amplify and emotionally detail the story to a very high degree.

In late 2011, Sama Duo  evolved yet again by adding bassist Christine Nelson and retooling as Pray For Brain. The new trio expands the range of groove, nuance and improvising conversations, with a music that's simultaneously lighter but deeper, easier to hear but harder to shake off.

The group will release its debut CD late spring of 2012.