Steve Swell is a trombonist who has been living and working in New York City since 1975. A veteran of the bands of Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor and William Parker, Steve has been forging a singular voice on the trombone and has become a crucial member of the Downtown scene in the last forty years. For this talk, we go back to his roots in New Jersey, New York in the 80s and talk about the current living/working conditions of the twenty first century musician in New York City.