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Steve Kovalcheck
Dawn Clement: Dear Ms. Dearie
by Paul Rauch
In giving this album a listen, it is difficult not to jump between the original recordings of the great Blossom Dearie, and those newly recorded by modern-day pianist/vocalist Dawn Clement. After all, those who have followed Clement's career have heard the comparisons between the two, particularly the vocal style that those critiquing Dearie referred to as “distinctive," “light," and “girlish." The separator here is that Dearie, while lauded for her original piano style, is more renowned for her colorful, poetic ...
Continue Reading...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 Reading...Ben 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 Reading...Vance 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 Reading...Ben 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 Reading...David 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 Reading...Ben 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 Reading...Music
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
