Born in Pasadena California in 1956, Steve started playing piano at age 6 and by 1964 was studying privately with Robert E. Turner, one of America’s finest pianists and teachers, who in turn was taught by Josef and Rosina Lhevinne at Juilliard. Classical lessons in Mr. Turner’s Santa Monica home gave him great technique, and providence gave him a great ear that had him figuring out the “Peanuts” jazz Christmas song when it first aired in 1965 (I was 9) and various Beatles songs like “Lady Madonna” and Martha My Dear” as they were released. And of course the Beatles made Steve pick up a guitar, as did thousands of other young guys, and he figured out chords and licks on his own and with the help of his piano teacher’s son, Jim Turner. After a piano lesson with Mr. Turner, he would head to Jim’s room where Jim played me “Crossroads” by Robert Johnson and Clapton’s version with Cream. From that point on Steve was hooked on the blues and rock. His oldest brother was solidly into the early folk scene of Dylan and Joan Baez , and the British invasion and explosion of 60’s rock followed, so the classical world where I read the music and the rock/roots world where he played by ear has always existed side by side with him.
After quitting piano at age 16 and a reluctant move with his family to Ontario Canada, in 1975 he found myself without a job, no prospects and living with relatives. An Aunt had heard about a jazz music course at Humber College in Toronto, so with no jazz background but with great ears, sight-reading and piano technique still intact, he enrolled and quickly learned the basics of how to make a living in the real music world. Thankfully back then (’77) there was still lots of jobs for talented musicians, so after college, he started playing with show bands and lounge acts, working 6 nights a week wherever the jobs took him. Going from Beethoven piano sonatas to the soundtrack of “Saturday Night Fever” – a fate most young keyboardists from the 70’s know well – the disco era and thriving R&B/pop scene in Toronto kept him playing and hauling a Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, amps and various synthesizers around Southern Ontario and Toronto.
In the 80’s word of mouth landed him great gigs in the studio playing for jingles where shortly he started writing and producing as well. There’s nothing like constant studio work to hone a musician’s skills, and he learned arranging on the fly; if it’s Monday and you have a session the upcoming Thursday with a 4 piece sax section, you learn to write and arrange very fast. No computer programs back then; just your ears and hand written manuscript paper. In 1985 he was hired to play the synth book on CATS which turned into a 4 year job and a 30 year career in musical theatre. Playing the piano book on TOMMY in 1995, I was also required to conduct, and so again hard work and practice led to the podium, where conducting came naturally to him.
Mention should be made of some important people in his life who have mentored. First of course is his piano teacher, Robert E. Turner, and his son Jim, who is now a producer and accomplished stride pianist working and living in LA. Clive Desmond, a jingle partner in the 80’s, encouraged him to write and arrange, and pushed to record jingles in New York, giving him a chance to work with great musicians who worked the studio scene there. Rick Fox hired him to conduct as well as play in musical theater shows, and coached him on conducting and arranging for vocals. Don Francks hired him to play in his jazz band, and his encyclopedic knowledge of jazz gave him lessons he could have never learned at school. He's now been with Don for over 30 years as his musical director and co-conspirator in arranging. Colm Wilkinson gave him a chance to play concert halls and conduct orchestras that he otherwise would never have done. Doing an orchestral arrangement of “Whiter Shade Of Pale” and performing that in Dublin with him was a dream come true, and an offering to the memory of his brother Paul, who turned him on to the brilliance of the band Procol Harum. Playing in the pits of musical theater shows with Brian Barlow (drums) and Scott Alexander (bass) showed him by example how to play with great time.
And so into his fifth decade of music in Toronto, he has built up a reputation as the “go to” guy; someone who can play any style, sight read and make it happen for whatever the gig happens to be. Along the way he has released 5 solo CD’s, toured through most of the U.S. and Canada and have played for a Canadian Prime Minister in Toronto, and a sitting U.S. president at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He's waiting to see where the next 20 years will take him in an ever changing world of music…