Stepansky, Joseph

Joseph, or Joe, seems to have had two careers, as well as two names. He started out with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Fine Arts Quartet, which he helped found, and with whom he played from 1946 to 1954, when he returned to the CSO.

A couple of FAQ recordings he appears on are Schumann String Quartets Nos. 1-3 and W.A. Mozart Viola Quintets, with violist Francis Tursi. In addition to these chamber pieces, he also recorded Mendelssohn’s Octet with Jascha Heifetz, and appears on Heifetz Collection, Vol. 35 and Selections from the Heifetz Collection, both released on CD in the mid-‘90s.

From 1959 until 1961, he was a member of the Hollywood Quartet, with Felix Slatkin. Other classical recordings on which he appears are Reginald Kell’s Original Masters boxed set and Ernst Toch’s Serenade for 2 Violins and Viola in G major, Op. 25 “Spitzweg”.

In the 1960s, he became involved in the burgeoning studio scene, recording with jazz and pop greats such as Ann-Margret, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Hirt, Helen Humes, Sonny James, and Dean Martin. He also appeared on Henry Mancini’s soundtrack to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and performed on Lalo Schifrin’s music for the television program, Mission: Impossible. In December 1968, he appeared in the Elvis TV special on NBC.

He opened the 1970s in the movie studio once more, again performing Lalo Schifrin’s music, this time for the war film, Kelly’s Heroes. In 1976, he teamed up with Schifrin again on the soundtrack to The Enforcer, and appeared on Earl Klugh’s eponymous debut album. A couple of years later, he collaborated with Ted Gardestad on his LP, Blue Virgin Isles.

In 1983, he performed on what appears to be his last Schifrin soundtrack, Sudden Impact.

The CD era affords us ample opportunity to hear Joe’s violin stylings on a number of anthologies and compilation albums, including Pat Boone’s Fifties: Complete, Ray Charles’ Genius & Soul: The 50^th Anniversary Collection, Duane Eddy’s The RCA Years: 1962-1964, Sonny James’ Young Love: The Complete Recordings: 1952-1962, Quincy Jones’ Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones, Fever: The Best of Peggy Lee, Dean Martin’s Everybody Loves Somebody: The Reprise Years 1962-1966, Ricky Nelson’s For You: The Decca Years, the Frank Sinatra boxed sets, The Complete Capitol Records Collection and Trilogy, and Send in the Clowns: The Very Best of Sarah Vaughan.

Sources:

Stepansky, Joseph

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