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During a musical career which spans three decades, Steve Holt has established himself as one of Canada's leading musicians and is listed in Canadian Who's Who. A JUNO nominee (Canadian equivalent of a Grammy), he has performed in concert with the likes of Larry Coryell, Archie Shepp, Eddie Henderson, Pat Labarbera, James Moody, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Michel Urbaniak, and many others. Steve has 5 albums and 3 singles to his credit, including "The Dream" - a major departure from his jazz roots.
Born in Montreal Canada, Steve was a musical prodigy who began to teach himself to play the piano at age four. By age 17, Steve was making a name for himself playing the club circuit. At 22 he finally decided to get a formal music education, and later graduated with distinction as McGill University's first-ever Bachelor of Music majoring in Jazz performance. He subsequently became a music instructor at McGill, traveling to New York to study with legendary pianist Kenny Barron. Holt's debut recording in 1983 "The Lion's Eyes" won instant critical acclaim around the world and was nominated for a JUNO. In subsequent years he established himself as one of Canada's leading pianists, performing with many of the world's greatest musicians.
In 2000 Holt made a dramatic change of musical direction from jazz to adult contemporary music. He studied voice with Bill Vincent and emerged in 2002 as a remarkable vocalist and songwriter, releasing his 6th record "The Dream", an AC-AOR album produced by Darius Szczepaniak (Barenaked Ladies, Jann Arden, Chantal Kreviazuk). The first single, "We Need You", a plea for peace and tolerance in a troubled world, achieved a great deal of success at radio across Canada. Holt was subsequently awarded an Honorable Mention at the USA Songwriting Competition.
Drawing on a wealth of musical expertise, life experiences, and spiritual unfolding, Steve's new music is powerful and real. As critic Dan Brisebois wrote in Canadianbands.com, "There really isn't a bad cut on the disc - and several are just plain exceptional. (Steve Holt) …will make you re-think your views on modern adult pop music."
Not sure of that name - I recall Debut, Raincheque, Waiting for Godot and some others that are not even remotely close to that. But Denis James or Gary Schwartz may know of that title??? GS is on Facebook - B
Hi Steve - Did you check out MK's book yet??? You can hear my version of Full Circle on my page - (apart from the lyrics it's very close to the original). Take care
It was fun to have you at the Upstairs jam last night. I'll be at the «The Pilot» on July 5 with my quintet and trombonist Ray Anderson as a special guest. Would be fun seeing you in TO.
