In June, Canadian jazz pianist Steve Koven (BFA '87) will cross the convocation stage to receive his master’s degree in music composition. It’s been a journey that has taken him to concert stages around the world and back to the classroom, and along the way he discovered his purpose.
Steve Koven
Over the past 20 years since earning his undergraduate degree in music at York University, a "40-something" Koven has enjoyed what most would feel is some pretty impressive artistic success. As part of the Steve Koven Trio, he has recorded eight albums and travelled the world with band mates, drummer Anthony Michelli (MA '08) and bassist Rob Clutton (MA '08). He enjoyed a prolific solo career as both a performer and composer. He started his own music school and currently teaches contemporary improvisation and jazz piano in York's music program. Then two years ago he returned to York University to pursue his dream of a graduate degree in music composition.
While he admits the course of his career has been pretty memorable, it has been the last eight months that Koven said has provided the life glue that brought everything together, including the culmination of his graduate studies and a critically acclaimed tour through Mexico and Ecuador.
"The whole experience of touring and studying is has been something that I can only describe as being just massive," said Koven. "I’ve had an opportunity to study first as an undergrad here at York University, and then as a graduate student with my mentor Casey Sokol. And I’ve had a chance represent Canada on the world’s music stages."
Last fall, the group embarked on an ambitious itinerary that took them to concert stages in nine cities in Mexico, including three on major stages in Baja California. The tour culminated with a critically acclaimed performance at the 39th Cervantino Festival in Mexico. "That tour gave us a chance to play in some pretty exciting venues," said Koven. "Everywhere we went, we received rave reviews and lots of media attention, which I think opened the door to an opportunity to represent Canada at one of Latin America's largest jazz festivals."
Indeed, their performances had caught the attention of organizers of the Quito International Jazz Festival (in the city of Quito, which is located in Pichincha, Ecuador) and they were invited to perform as representatives of Canada. The annual festival gathers about 200 musicians from around the world for a classic jazz encounter. Artists from Japan, Argentina, Brazil, the US, Spain, France, Poland, Canada and Ecuador travel to the festival to play their best jazz and blues creations.
Koven with band mates Rob Clutton (on bass) and Anthony Michelli (on drums) performing at the Quito International Jazz Festival
"At Quito, it was just wonderful. We were extremely well received and we had a chance to play among some pretty amazing acts, including Trombone Shorty from New Orleans. It was a wonderful experience to be selected to represent Canada at the festival.
"Our confidence level really received a boost, we shared the stage with some really major acts from around the world," he said. "I think our success is the result of what we brought to the stage because it was something very different."
"The music we play involves a lot of my compositions with a strong melodic base. A lot of music that I write is based on my travels. I try to borrow from the countries and cultures that the trio has had the opportunity and privilege to experience through tours such as the one we completed last fall in Mexico."
Click here to view a video of the Steve Koven Trio performing at the Quito International Jazz Festival.
"We play jazz that fuses a variety of different influences," he said. "I think that people really appreciate that quality. One of my compositions, Resurgence, I composed after coming back from China, and is based on the traditional Chinese pentatonic scale. It is very simple on the surface, but our detail is based on emotion, passion and expression of ideas about our music. We finished our set [at Quito] with a song called Lifetime that I wrote 30 years ago when I was just 18. I wouldn’t categorize it as pure jazz; it is more of a popular ballad.
"As a group we do things that are not typical. I dance, we tell stories and include the audience in our performance that is based on a rapport and brotherhood that is based on 20 years of history as a group and people see that in us," he said. "The dean of the music department at the University of San Francisco in Quito said that he loved how we connected with each other in our performances."
That kind of reaction to his music and following his dream to pursue a graduate degree, said Koven, has led him to truly comprehend his purpose. "I understand now what it is I can offer, and I am here because I followed my dream."