TORONTO - Being nominated by the Toronto Independent Music Awards (TIMAs) is one of two things jazz pianist Steve Koven is really excited to talk about.

Steve Koven

The Steve Koven Trio’s last CD, Sound of Songs, has been nominated in the best jazz CD category. And at the same time, the trio is about to release its eighth CD, Alone Together, a collection of jazz standards commissioned by a Japanese company.

“It’s really exciting,” Koven, 46, says. “Any recognition of your work is great.”

The Steve Koven Trio, a Toronto-based jazz group has been performing around the world since 1993 and has shared the stage with Nancy Wilson, John Pizzarelli, T.S. Monk, Ben Castle and several others. But this is the first time Koven feels the band is getting major recognition.

“Sound of Songs was all original songs and represents my best works, so I was blown away when I got a call from L.A. telling me I was nominated for an album I’m very proud of. It’s a strong piece of work,” he says.

Now in its fifth year, the TIMAs acknowledge up-andcoming indpenendent artists. Previous winners have included singer Amanda Martinez and klezmer/world music band Beyond the Pale.

Koven is especially proud of the title track, a swinging groove that opens with a beautiful string quartet arrangement. The title comes from a book written by his father about his ancestors’ emigration from Russia.

“It’s specifically about my grandfather coming here as a 14-year-old boy to make a life for himself. When I was composing songs for this CD, I had all the tracks except one, and when I read his book, I went, ‘Wow,’ and literally wrote the song in a minute.”

Sound of Songs contains nine original jazz songs that take the listener on an instrumental journey around the world.

Indeed, Koven has performed in dozens of places including Barbados, Mexico, Colombia, China, Jamaica and Japan – which brings us to the other thing he’s excited about.

Alone Together was financed by a Japanese music distribution company. “They told me they’d like us to make an album of jazz standards,” Koven says, although the talented composer is better known for his progressive improvisations. “They made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. It’s not my typical approach, but it’s not really a bad thing. I’m extremely honoured to be approached by a company – one in another country – that wants to import and support a project of ours.”

Of the 10 songs on Alone Together, seven are standards including works by Cole Porter, T.S. Monk, and Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’. The other three are original compositions by the members of the band, which also includes Rob Clutton on double bass and Anthony Michelli on drums.

“This will be released shortly in Canada and Japan, and then we’ll start recording our ninth CD, one of original music, later this year.”

Of all their travels, Koven was especially taken by Colombia.

“Colombia was one of the highlights of my career,” he says. “We were invited by the Canadian Embassy in Bogota.”

Most of the band’s performances abroad have been through Canadian embassies and high commissions as cultural ambassadors. “We would go to different places and present concerts and do educational workshops and clinics.”

At the National University of Colombia in Bogota, the band was about half an hour late arriving. “There were thousands of people waiting for us, and it was like a riot. It’s like they were waiting for the Rolling Stones,” he says. “We didn’t know what to expect. It was like being a rock star. I’ve never experienced anything of that magnitude.”

Another thrilling place was China, where they got to play to 5,000 people at Beijing University, and later at the Shanghai Concert Hall. “It was absolutely amazing.”

Unfortunately some of these government-sponsored gigs are drying up because of cutbacks. “There’s no funding anymore, and I’m not going to go on tour and come back a few thousand dollars in the hole,” he says. “It’s a sad situation. Artists like myself rely on funding in order to get exposure – we need the support of our government to help us.”

The local scene hasn’t been much better, especially since the closing of The Senator and other venues, he laments.

“The jazz scene has really deteriorated over the years. There’s only a couple of jazz venues in the city left. I’m too old to be playing for $50 in a coffee house.”

Koven reacts positively to this though, saying it forces him to go out and do his own promotion. He’s rented a 350-seat theatre for the CD release party for his forthcoming ninth album in November. “This way I can put on an amazing show and make some money.”

Koven also attends York University, both as a student where he’s studying composition, and as an instructor where he teaches a course in musical improvisation.

Koven doesn’t see himself as a traditional jazz player. His compositions frequently blend many different styles including East Indian, classical, funk and blues. The CBC said about him: “He can be as experimental as John Cage, as impressionistic as Claude Debussy or as bluesy as Fats Waller.”

“I might make a living as a ‘jazz musician,’ but my forte is being an improviser and I borrow from many traditions, from pretty much the whole spectrum,” Koven says. “I’m just a musician playing my own music. I feel blessed that I chose this path.”

For more information on The Steve Koven Trio visit www. Stevekoven.com