Streetdancer -

Streetdancer was an American jazz-rock band that released two albums between 1974 and 1976.

Members: Kestutis Stanciauskas (bass), Roger Glienke (guitar), Robert Long (keyboards), Andy Potter (drums, percussion)

Background

Streetdancer formed in the Chicago area in 1973 around bassist Kestutis Stanciauskas (b. January 4, 1951; Chicago), a Chicago-born jazz bassist of Lithuanian heritage who produced and arranged the band’s material. Stanciauskas, nicknamed Kest, joined Eckankar in 1971, a short-lived group with keyboardist/pianist/flutist Robert Long, vibraphonist/recorder/percussionist Seeker, and drummer Steve Juds. Eckankar recorded one album in Boston before disbanding.

Stanciauskas returned to Chicago and recruited Long for Streetdancer, where percussionist Lester Crawford and reeds player Santez joined through local jazz-fusion circuits. The group tracked their debut at Vern Castle Studios and released it on Future Records in 1974.

Streetdancer

Streetdancer released their self-titled debut in 1974 on Future Records.

The album delivers kinetic jazz-rock with strong bass lines, layered keyboards, and active horn leads, recorded by bassist Kestutis Stanciauskas, keyboardist Robert Long, percussionist Lester Crawford, and reeds player Santez. Stanciauskas wrote six songs; keyboardist Robert Long wrote one.

Tracks build from concise bursts to extended explorations. Bass anchors drive relentless rhythms in “Affirmative” and “Rush,” while keyboards frame horn flourishes in “Directions” and “Lines in Your Mind.” “Night Tune” sketches a brief keyboard-led interlude, “Casa” pairs steady percussion with reed pulses, and “Timeless” stretches into bass-keyboard dialogues over shifting paces.

A1. “Affirmative” (2:42)
A2. “Directions” (8:03)
A3. “Night Tune” (2:40)
A4. “Rush” (5:03)

B1. “Casa” (3:34)
B2. “Lines in Your Mind” (7:23)
B3. “Timeless” (7:50)

Sessions occurred at Vern Castle Studios in Chicago with producer Perry Johnson and engineer Andy Waterman. Rory Bonnet designed and illustrated the cover.

Rising

Streetdancer released their second album, Rising, in August 1977 on Dharma Records.

The album crafts energetic fusion with distorted guitar, soaring violin, and active rhythms, recorded by bassist Kestutis Stanciauskas (acoustic bass, electric bass), keyboardist Robert Long (acoustic piano, electric piano), drummer Andy Potter (b. September 18, 1949; Chicago; drums, tabla, congas, bongos), multi-instrumentalist Roger Glienke (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, sitar, percussion, Yugoslavian wood flute), tenor/soprano saxophonist/bass clarinetist Chico Freeman (b. July 17, 1949; Chicago), and violinist Chris Miller (acoustic violin, electric violin). Stanciauskas wrote five songs; Glienke wrote two; Long wrote two.

Tracks alternate concise statements with expansive jams. “Presence” opens with taut bass-sax exchanges, “Cosmocossic” deploys keyboard swells over drum pulses, and “Visualization” launches Glienke’s guitar into rapid violin-guitar runs. “Yonnie’s Tune” unfolds over 12 minutes with fiery sax attacks and shifting tempos, while “Maitreya” weaves Middle Eastern-inflected flute and sitar into sax lines. “Reunion” and “Bridges” spotlight Long’s electric piano amid guitar dominance, and “Moon in the Water” closes with classical violin drives and loose group interplays.

A1. “Presence” (2:57)
A2. “Cosmocossic” (4:35)
A3. “Visualization” (4:12)
A4. “Yonnie’s Tune” (12:35)

B1. “Maitreya” (5:10)
B2. “Reunion” (6:34)
B3. “Bridges” (4:05)
B4. “Moon in the Water” (9:02)

Sessions occurred at Rainbow Bridge Studios in Libertyville, Illinois, with producer Streetdancer, recording engineer David Huston, and assistant engineer Barbara Pollizzi. Executive producer Perry Johnson oversaw the project; half-speed mastering took place at JVC Cutting Center in Hollywood. Horst Grumbach illustrated and designed the front cover; Steve Hashimoto designed the back cover; Jim Caulfield and Robert Hashimoto provided back cover photography.

Steps (EP)

Streetdancer released the Steps EP in 1980. The EP spans zeuhl-tinged rhythms and light fusion passages, recorded by the core sextet from Rising. Stanciauskas wrote two songs; an uncredited writer handled one.

“Joker and the Thief” fuses fuzz bass with choppy piano over percussion layers, “On and On Part 1” extends into breezy soprano sax leads, and “Journey into the Night” charts sax-guitar explorations amid steady drums.

A1. “Joker and the Thief” (6:09)
A2. “On and On Part 1” (3:15)

B1. “Journey into the Night” (8:15)

Streetdancer activity slowed through the 1980s. The group reunited in the mid-1990s for three albums leaning into straight-ahead jazz.

Discography: