Steve Holt (born 1954) is a Canadian jazz pianist.
Steve Holt (born 1954) is a Canadian jazz pianist.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1954, Holt exhibited musical ability in early childhood, playing piano at the age of four. [1] By the time he was a teenager, Holt was a regular on the Montreal club scene. [1]
Holt remained self-taught until he entered McGill University. [2] There, he was taught by pianist Armas Maiste, whose bebop playing influenced him. [2] Holt also became a student of Kenny Barron, traveling regularly to New York City for private lessons with the pianist. [1] Holt graduated from McGill in 1981 with that university's first Bachelor of Music major in Jazz Performance, [3] and taught jazz improvisation there. [1]
In 1983, Holt's debut album, The Lion's Eyes, was released. [1] It was nominated for a Juno Award. [2] He has worked with jazz musicians Larry Coryell, James Moody, [4] Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, [5] and Archie Shepp. [1] Holt moved to Toronto in 1987 and worked as an equity analyst. [2] For a time, he also continued playing clubs at night. [2] Further albums were released in the 1990s: Christmas Light (1991); Just Duet (1992); and Catwalk (1994). [1]
In 1999, Holt returned to concentrating on music full-time. [1] Three years later, his fifth album, The Dream, was released. [1] He then moved into music production, and stopped performing jazz live [2] until 2014. Following a move to the countryside, his interest in jazz performance returned. [2] In 2017, he opened a health food store in Warkworth, Ontario, [6] that operated as a jazz venue (The Jazz Cafe) once a week. [7]
After a 20 year absence from the recording field, Holt released a new album in April 2025. The album, IMPACT, featured several new compositions and a new band, The Steve Holt Jazz Impact Quintet. [8] The album received widespread international acclaim. [9] [10] [11]
Singles
