Steve Koven is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Jazz pianist and member of the Steve Koven Trio.

Born in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada, Koven took up the piano at the age of seven. He earned a B.F.A. from York University

York University

York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....

 studying contemporary improvisation. Since graduating in 1987, Koven has pursued his career as a jazz pianist, composer and educator.

He has continued his studies with various jazz artists including; Benny Green

Benny Green (pianist)

Benny Green is a hard bop jazz pianist who was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He has been compared to Bud Powell in style and counts him as an influence. As a boy he grew up in Berkeley, California and studied classical piano from the age of seven...

, Geoff Keeser, and Bruce Barth. Aside from performing nationally and internationally with his own trio, he continues to work as a solo artist throughout Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, U.S.A., the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. He has composed music for film and television and, as an educator, has taught privately for 25 years, conducting master classes, workshops and clinics at high schools, universities and festivals. Koven's master classes and workshops focus on the development of improvisational tools and musical self-expression.

He has taught in Japan, China, Colombia, Barbados, Mexico and the USA and is currently on staff at York University in Toronto, teaching contemporary improvisation and jazz piano in the faculty of music. Presently, Koven is working on his Masters in composition at York University.

Discography

• Alone Together - (2010)
• The Sound of Songs - (2008) **nominated for best jazz Cd - The Independent Music Awards
• Resurgence - 2006
• All The Time In The World - 2004
• Lifetime - 2002
• Not By The Elbows - 2000
• Sandbox - 1999
• Steve Koven Trio Live - 1997

External links

• Steve Koven's Official Website: http://www.stevekoven.com/