Steve Slagle (born September 18, 1952) is an American jazz saxophonist.
Slagle was born in Los Angeles and grew up in suburban Philadelphia. he received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. He came to New York in 1976, playing with Machito and his Afro-Cuban orchestra, and played successively with Ray Barretto, Steve Kuhn, Lionel Hampton, Brother Jack McDuff, and Carla Bley. In the mid-1980s, he began leading his own combos, first with Mike Stern and then with Dave Stryker. He has also played frequently with Joe Lovano.
In the mid-1980s, global and especially Latin influences began to inflect Slagle's work, and he appeared on albums by Milton Nascimento and Olivier Hutman. He toured frequently worldwide during the 1990s and 2000s. especially in Western Europe, Japan, and, latterly, Bulgaria. During the 1990s, he was a leading figure in the Charles Mingus Big Band. Ever since the late 1990s, Slagle has co-led a band with guitarist Dave Stryker.
Slagel plays Yanagisawa saxophones i.e. the A9937 alto saxophone and S9930 soprano saxophone.
With Steve Kuhn