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Steve Kovalcheck
Steve Kovalcheck: Buckshot Blues
by Jack Bowers
If a guitarist, pianist or anyone else who planned to record a trio could have a wish list, chances are good that one name at the top would be that of drummer Jeff Hamilton. On his 2026 album, Buckshot Blues, Colorado-based guitarist Steve Kovalcheck's wish has come true. Jon Hamar, a superb bassist, shares the rhythmic assignment with none other than the peerless Hamilton himself who can make any trio--including his own--seem several grades better than advertised. Why? ...
Continue ReadingBen Markley Big Band: Tuesday Morning Feeling
by Jack Bowers
When a bandleader says he plans to rely less on arranging the music of others to focus more on his own compositions and charts, the usual response is a prolonged sigh or indifferent shrug of the shoulders --which makes it all the more remarkable that when pianist and composer Ben Markley did exactly that on Tuesday Morning Blues, the third recording by the Colorado-based Ben Markley Big Band, the finished product demands not a sigh or shrug but a straight-from-the-heart ...
Continue ReadingVance Thompson: Lost and Found
by Jack Bowers
For several years, Vance Thompson's career as a musician hung in the balance. Owing to a neurological disorder known as Focal Dystonia, the Grammy-nominated trumpeter and founder of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra was literally unable to blow his own horn. But unlike other people who may have thrown in the towel or called it a day, Thompson instead looked for an alternative, set his mind and body to work and learned to play a second instrument, namely the vibraphone.
Continue ReadingBen Markley: Tell the Truth
by Jack Bowers
Ben Markley, who has already earned wide praise as a pianist, educator and leader of the Ben Markley Big Band, brandishes his sturdy composing and arranging chops on Tell the Truth, wherein he leads an able-bodied Colorado-based quintet through its paces on eight of his typically melodious and sunlit original compositions. According to Markley, the pieces were written to parallel the classic 1960s Blue Note quintet recordings, with guitarist Steve Kovalcheck replacing the customary trumpet lead and ...
Continue ReadingDavid Caffey Jazz Orchestra: At the Edge of Spring
by Jack Bowers
With his album, At the Edge of Spring, composer and arranger David Caffey and his Colorado-based Jazz Orchestra not only defy the widely-held belief that big bands are dead, they emphatically blow that axium out of the water. This is an ensemble with no discernible weaknesses, as proficient and powerful as any that have come before it or are likely to follow. To verify that impression, you need only couple your ears with an open mind. As ...
Continue ReadingBen Markley: Live at Nocturne
by Pierre Giroux
Ben Markley's Live At Nocturne encapsulates a rare alchemy that emerges from nightly performances in an intimate collaborative setting. Over two uninterrupted months, Markley and his cohorts guitarist Steve Kovalcheck, alto saxophonist Will Swindler, bassists Domi Edson (tracks 1-5), Matt Smiley (tracks 6-7) and drummer Andy Wheeler, transformed Denver's Nocturne into a crucible for creativity that celebrates the improvisational spirit of jazz and the rewards of sustained musical interaction. Markley's seven original compositions serve as the ...
Continue ReadingDawn Clement / Steve Kovalcheck / Jon Hamar: Dawn Clement / Steve Kovalcheck / Jon Hamar
by Dan Bilawsky
A trio sans drums offers the opportunity for a capacious clarity that you can't find anywhere else. And this particular collective with pianist Dawn Clement, guitarist Steve Kovalcheck and bassist Jon Hamar embraces that possibility while highlighting an inviting style all its own. Splitting compositional duties and showcasing an empathetic sixth sense that involves baton-passing bonhomie, dovetailing joints, melodic volleying, conversational chemistry, steady support and sympathy, these three demonstrate what egoless creativity is all about. There is ...
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The Gentleman Is A Dope
From: Dear Ms. DearieBy Steve Kovalcheck
Ben's Tune
From: Tuesday Morning FeelingBy Steve Kovalcheck
Bright Child
From: Buckshot BluesBy Steve Kovalcheck
Don't Bring It Up
From: Tell the TruthBy Steve Kovalcheck
Birdless
From: Ari's FunhouseBy Steve Kovalcheck
