The Trio



Steve Koven Trio

The Steve Koven Trio is a Canadian, Toronto-based jazz group.

Formed in 1993, the trio is one of Canada’s longest standing trio’s, performing, touring and recording together for over twenty-five years. They have performed world-wide, and have established themselves as one of Canada’s cultural ambassadors.

The band has released fourteen critically-acclaimed albums since their debut, Live at the Senator, in 1997.  Many of their compositions have been used for national and international film and TV productions.

Venues and Festivals performed at include:

  • Irapuato Jazz Festival, Irapuato, Mexico
  • Eleuthera Jazz Festival, Eleuthera, Bahamas
  • San Miguel Jazz & Blues Festival, San Miguel, Mexico
  • Merida Festival, Merida, Mexico
  • Monterrey Music Festival, Monterrey, Mexico
  • Canada Week Cultural Festival – Mexico City, Mexico
  • Ecuador International Jazz Festival, Quito, Ecuador
  • Cervantino International Festival, Mexico
  • October Festival, Baja, California
  • Shanghai Concert Hall, China
  • Peking University, Beijing, China
  • Teatro Libre Jazz Festival, Bogota, Colombia
  • Universidad de Nacional, Bogota, Colombia
  • Barrinquilla Jazz Festival, Barrinquilla, Colombia
  • Canadian Embassy Theatre, Tokyo, Japan
  • Canada House, London, England
  • Jersey Channel Island Jazz Festival, U.K.
  • Montreal Jazz Festival
  • San Fernando Jazz Festival, Trinidad
  • Jamaica Jazz Festival
  • Nassau Bahamas Jazz Festival
  • Barbados International Jazz Festival
  • Holders Season Festival, Barbados
  • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Cultural Festival
  • Canada Cultural Festival, Monterrey, Mexico
  • Port of Veracruz, Mexico
  • Brandon Jazz Festival
  • Canada Week
  • Ottawa Jazz Festival
  • Winnipeg Jazz Festival
  • Kensington Market Jazz Festival, Toronto
  • Toronto Jazz Festival

The trio made a remarkable demonstrations of why Canadian Jazz is truly world class

–Scott McCook – First Secretary Public Affairs, Embassy of Canada in Mexico

Steve Koven brings to the stage, a contagious passion for jazz that has made him one of the finest performers in the biz

— Montreal International Jazz Festival – press release 2009

Koven can create a piece out of thin air in the time it takes for him to play it. He can be as experimental as John Cage, as impressionistic as Claude Debussy, or as bluesy as Fats Waller. The common denominators are superb technique and a fresh approach to the music.

–Amanda Putz – CBC radio

“The Steve Koven Trio represents the healthy future of jazz.”

– Rolling Stone Magazine (Asia)


Steve Koven – Piano

Steve Koven – Piano

Steve Koven is a composer, performer, producer, educator and film maker. In 1993 he established the Steve Koven Trio.   Touring the world for more then two decades, they have been coined as ‘Canadian Cultural Ambassadors’.  Aside from performing world wide with his trio, Steve also performs solo piano concerts throughout North America, Europe and the Caribbean. Dozens of Koven’s compositions have been licensed for national and international film and television productions.

As an educator, Steve has been teaching in the Faculty of Music at Toronto’ s York University since 2003, teaching Contemporary Improvisation and Jazz Piano Studies.  In addition, Steve teaches in the Music Department at Centennial College in Toronto,  He holds a Masters in Music Composition and has presented master classes and clinics throughout Canada, China, Japan, Colombia, Barbados, Bahamas, USA and Mexico.  Steve is also the Education Co-ordinator of the Eleuthera International Jazz Festival on Eleuthera, Bahamas, and has presented a TEDx TALK at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario.

Koven is also an award winning film maker, receiving first price for his documentary, 20, in the 2015 Toronto Independent Film Festival and for his documentary, Improvisation in the 2018 Toronto Short Film Festival