Steve Shapiro is a veteran NYC studio vibraphonist, composer, and mallet keyboardist. He has recorded or performed with artists such as Steely Dan, Ornette Coleman, Phil Collins, SpyroGyra, Whitney Houston, They Might Be Giants, Pat Martino, and many others. An accomplished producer and arranger, his work has appeared in hundreds of high-profile projects for television, film, and Disney. Steve has been a pioneer using audio and midi technology with the vibraphone since the 1980s, and has developed a unique voice inspired by contemporary electric keyboards. He has released seven recordings as a leader, which have featured a roster of stellar sidemen including Marc Johnson, Jeff Coffin, Mark Egan, Danny Gottlieb, Pat Bergeson, Oz Noy, Kevin Hays, Doug Weiss, Tim Ries, Shane Theriot, and more.
Raised in Connecticut, Steve was a member of an award-winning high school jazz ensemble that produced many influential musicians. He studied percussion with artists Bob Moses, Dave Samuels, and David Friedman, and composition with modern-jazz icon Steve Swallow and at Yale under Anthony Davis. Steve has received awards from Berklee College of Music and IAJE, and has been featured in magazines such as Mix, Downbeat, JazzTimes, The Village Voice, JazzEd, Video-Systems and Modern Drummer. He remains an active clinician, and has taught at University of Delaware, NYU, and Yale University, and presented at The Percussive Arts Society International Convention and the World Vibe Congress. He has performed around the world, and has appeared regularly at NYC area clubs like The 55 Bar, Wilsons, Smalls, Visiones, and others.
The recording industry journal MIX Magazine writes, “Steve Shapiro is a legitimate triple-threat musician.” All Music Guide says “Shapiro is an impressive performer, with what is clearly a developed personal voice on his instrument.” And Audiophile Audition remarked that “Shapiro has absorbed the playing of all the master malleteers, from Lionel Hampton to Gary Burton to Joe Locke and beyond, and come up with his own very lyrical and dancing approach.” JazzTimes critic Bill Milkowski has lauded Steve’s latest recording with celebrated Nashville guitarist Pat Bergeson as “another winning effort.”
Steve Shapiro is a Yamaha performing artist and plays Balter signature mallets.