STEVE MILLION
Genres: Hard Bop, Vocal Jazz, Post-Fusion Contemporary, Post Bop • United States

In 1988, Steve Million was a semifinalist in the internationally renowned Thelonious Monk Piano Competition; that same year, the Missouri native moved to Chicago and never looked back. The music of Monk continued to play an important role in his career. In the 90s he formed a two-keyboard band called Monk’s Dream with Mike Kocour and Robert Shy; in the 2000s created the humor-filled band Thelonious Moog with Joe "Guido" Welsh; and is now part of a piano duo with esteemed pianist Jeremy Kahn called Double Monk that performs the music of Monk with their arrangements and sometimes with the modern dancer Ariane Dolan. Around 2004 Million began a rewarding career teaching privately at the respected Merit School of Music, where he is now Jazz Chair, runs classes in jazz piano, jazz ensembles, and improvisation. In addition to playing his regular nightly gig at the popular downtown restaurant Catch 35. read more...