Steven Santoro, born Steven Kowalczyk, from Milford, Massachusetts, did not have to look far to find his new name. His grandfather, Libertore Santoro was a saxophone player and inspired Steven, the fourth grader, to play the horn as well. But during his freshman year in High School , Steven's musical interests took a turn. Even though he loved playing classic Big Band charts like Count Basie’s “Queen Bee”, he truly found himself while sitting in front of a piano writing songs. Soon his band director was lending him the keys to the Grand piano in the auditorium.
Steven's songwriting and singing addiction eventually led him to the University of Massachusetts to study Afro American Music and Jazz with Dr. Horace Boyer. While learning to sing and improvise on classic 32 bar songs made famous in the Jazz and Swing eras, Steven wrote and arranged his own pieces. Some were inspired by the form and tone of the classics and others continued on the ever changing path of the pop music that pervaded.
Steven's ability to authentically juggle the two styles is what years later, caught the ears of Ahmet Ertegun, the legendary founder of Atlantic Records. After a stint of teaching Special Education classes in Los Angeles, Steven recorded his first album, “Moods And Grooves”, for Atlantic Records with producers Ertegun and Shane Keister. Released worldwide, it rose to #20 on the Jazz Radio Charts in the USA while Kowalczyk toured the country as an opener for FOURPLAY ( Bob James, Nathan East, Lee Ritenour, Harvey Mason). After parting with Atlantic Records, Steven played to eager audiences in London and “Moods And Grooves” shot to #1 on United Kingdom's Jazz FM Radio.
After one of many corporate shake-ups in the Warner/Atlantic world, Steven fell back on his other love, teaching. The Public School Repertory Company, a performing arts alternative High School located in the heart of Times Square, acquired the talented, now more experienced Steven Kowalczyk. For three years he taught Songwriting, Music Theory and Vocal Technique to a creative and restless crew of NYC's Hip Hop culture. Under his guidance, his Songwriting class won the award for Best Original Song in the National Gospel Choir Competition. Meanwhile, Steven performed in New York's club scene, worked as a studio session/jingle singer, lending his voice to represent many national and international ad campaigns. He began producing and arranging for other independent recording artists and kept on writing the songs he loved to write.
While on a session at Signature Sounds Studio in Massachusetts, Steven called in some of NY's heaviest players (James Genus, Clarence Penn, Nathaniel Townsley, Marc Ciprut, John Cowherd, more...) to lay down the tracks to some of his original tunes. He took on his grandfather's name and this time with himself as producer, Steven Santoro created the album, “Soul Of The Night .” Here he infused the sophisticated harmony of Jazz with the sexy rhythms and vocal sounds of R and B and Pop. He sings of the pain and beauty of childhood, love, and life in the city. The album drew thousands of listeners online.
Steven has packaged two more, self prouduced albums. "Where I Come From" is an homage to the R&B inflected sound of the 70's. And "Whisper My Name", which found its way to George Nauful of Mesabluemoon Records, brings Steven back to his nack for writing moody classic Jazz inspired compositions. Now under the wing of Mesabluemoon and producer, Steven Miller, a new and best yet album of original music has been created. It is currently untitled.
Thirty Tigers/BMG invited Steven to arrange and perform a cut on its "Song of America" release in which he and other artists such as Take 6, John Mellencamp, Black Crowes, Andy Bey and more, present a history of classic American songs that span 2 Centuries. Steven also appears on Sting's "A Winter's Night - Live From Durham Cathedral" DVD/TV Special, singing backgrounds along with a group of worldclass musicians. And “Ivory Joe Cole,” A new musical for which he is the lyricist, will soon go into production under the direction of Kenny Leon ("Fences", starring Denzel Washington, won multiple Tony awards with Kenny at the helm). Steven is currently on faculty at the famed Berklee College of Music.
Steven Kowalczyk, at the Firebird Cafe, hails from Boston with a degree in Afro-American Music and Jazz from the University of Massachusetts, but there's nothing of the college egghead about him. He's a wildly accomplished blues-pop-jazz performer with a soulful intensity and movie-star sex appeal - soft, breathy, with an intricate sense of rhythm and an impeccable sense of time. He can swing, he can croon, and he scats like Mel Torme. His own compositions are fresh and unique. "My Lady Don't Dare" is a cool, snappy jazz tune in the old Bobby Troup style, while "Mother of Mothers" is a Brazilian free-for-all with a risky scat centerpiece that defies gravity. But he's got his own spin on standards, too: "You Don't Know What Love Is" reduces the room to a stunned hush, then he breaks up Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" into short puntuated, husky phrases like the valves on a bass trombone.
Accompanied by a first rate trio of Jon Cowherd on piano, Marc Ciprut on guitar and James Genus on bass, Mr. Kowalczyk takes risks and lands on his feet every time. I can't imagine who his idols are because he sounds completely original. All I can say is he knows more about music than a fellow so young has a right to know. The only thing wedged between Mr. Kowalczyk and stardom is his name, but his talent is so big you'll remember even though you can't pronounce it.
-Rex Reed
The Times ( London)
The virtue in virtuosity
ON ITS American release, this debut album by Steven Kowalczyk went straight into the national jazz chart, and its availability here is timed to coincide with the Massachusetts-born singer/songwriter’s participation next week in London's Festival of Voice at the Pizza Express.
Eleven of the 12 songs on the album – the exception is Polka Dots and Moonbeams, in which he succeeds in rendering one of the most syrupy lyrics in the standard repertoire entirely credible – are self-penned. They range from dry social observations set to neatly bustling backing, through wry self-assessment songs, to soaring romantic ballads in which the jazz and pop elements are mixed with sufficient skill to attract admirers from each camp without alienating either.
The voice - sufficiently remarkable to bring the legendary Ahmet Ertegun out of retirement to produce the album - is at once intimately conversational and uncontrivedly hip. combining the improvisational imagination and rhythmic flexibility of jazz with the emotional appeal of pop. If he comes over half as well live, he could be big.
- Chris Parker
The Stage (London)
A New Englander, Kowalczyk first set his sights on attaining fame as a songwriter. When his demo tape hit the desk of Ahmet Ertegun, the legendary producer who founded Atlantic Records, something clicked and Kowalczyk became a performer. His debut CD on Atlantic, made in 1995 with Alan Broadbent on piano, earned him plenty of attention.
This young American made his London debut during the recent Pizza Express Festival of Voice season. There was noth-ing in that programme title to suggest that all the participants were to be cast as jazz singers, so it was no
surprise when Kowalczyk's material crossed over to pop and rock. With a small group to back him, led by Bostonian pianist Jonathan Smith, he presented two sets, made up largely of his own material, much of it underpinned by rock rhythms and wah-wah guitar.
Animated and almost exhaustingly energetic, Kowalczyk is no man for understatement, elongat-ing his songs with scat cadenzas, codas and overlays. Whether what he does is very much to do with jazz is a moot point. After all, who has ever defined jazz singing to everyone's satisfaction?
Still, Kowalczyk will sometimes remind you of Mark Murphy and, refreshingly, on Lullaby of the Leaves, his rough-edged emotionalism recalled Tony Bennett. What is not in doubt is this thirtysomething artist's ability, and desire, to sell a song and communicate. This audience loved Kowalczyk - he is hot in the States, too - and could very well emerge as a talent to watch.
- Peter Vacher
New York Post
Jazz-pop tyro is a knockout.
For a critic, - there is no bigger treat than to stop by a club to check out an “unknown” performer and be knocked out by the talent. Steven Kowalczyk, whom I caught at Eighty Eights, has a natural feel for jazz – and there aren’t many good young, jazz oriented, male singers around.
He intermixes jazzy numbers with pop ones, most of which he wrote and all of which he puts over with a sure, rhytmic feel. He radiates an appealing sense of joy. That he is also good looking and has an endearing, self-deprecating way of kidding around with an audience shouldn't hurt, either. Oh, he is not without flaws - what newcomer is? – but his flaws, having to do with pacing, enunciation and a certain lack of finish - are of the more easily correctable sort.
The main thing is, he can stride onstage, pumped up with energy; swing into a number confidently; move from written lyrics to scat choruses, using his voice like an instrument; and say, after wrapping in up, “Boy that was fun!” And it’s fun for you too.
He has recorded his first CD, “Moods And Grooves,” for Atlantic. I hope the company promotes him wisely. I’m constantly pestered by publicists touting performers of limited abilities. But no publicist called me about this talented singer – nor about Madeleine Peyroux, a fellow Atlantic artist. Both could - and should – be groomed for bigger things.
- Chip Deffaa
BACKSTAGE
Dynamite!
THERE ARE FEW THINGS A CRITIC LIKES MORE than to discover a rising new talent who shows great promise. Such is the case with jazz-pop dynamo Steven Kowalczyk (pronounced Ko-wal-chek). From what I saw as he wound up his first series of shows at Eighty Eight’s, this guy’s going to make some pretty big waves.
At a rather young age, he was signed by Atlantic Records, and legendary jazz king Ahmet Ertegun produced his first album. Seemingly, he is no longer with Atlantic. The loss is Atlantic’s – in spades.
The handsome, affable singer-songwriter has a style that’s hard to define. First, he’s about as free a spirit as you’re likely to find on any stage. He bounces with the music, and his self-effacing quips and loose style might easily be interpreted as unconventional. But his talent is anything but that. I would categorize his as a jazz/pop crooner with a rangy, clear lyric baritone that has many affecting shadings.
With his four-piece band, Kowalczyk presented a show of all original jazzy songs, with only one exception. This, in itself, is very risky. When he tears into a ditty such as his opener, “Buttercup,” he sails with the music and seems to float with the beat. This is a perfect example of a singer who has found his own voice and knows how to express himself. Dressed somewhat grungily in an open shirt and baggy jeans, he seems to be at a rehearsal rather than a show. However, this is not unlike many jazz singers who are so into the music that they forget the audience. In Kowalczyk’s case, his idolaters never allowed him to forget. The packed room repeatedly shouted out its support and he’s already developed a large following. He was a real pro.
This 90’s troubadour fuses jazz and pop tunes with ease in a high-energy show that never bores. While more stage discipline and structure might be advised in an intimate room, this young man has such a confident sense of identity and likeable persona, maybe he should do it all his way.
- John Hoaglund
New York Post
Steven Kowalczyk, who may be the best male jazz singer you’ve never heard of, brings both timeless standards and fresh originals to his continuing gig at the FireBird. Kowalczyk, who’s at the midtown café through tomorrow, sings of loss and longing ( doing classics like “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and “Lullabye Of The Leaves”). It’s a theme he clearly understands well. There is an honesty to his unhurried, low-key delivery. Whether singing written lyrics or scatting, he performs with a naturalness that’s rare among younger jazz singers.
- Chip Deffaa
St Louis Post Dispatch
Several very attractive facets of jazz and pop singing come together on this New England singer/songwriter’s debut recording: the sly, beatnick-inspired writing of performers such as Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones and Donald Fagan; the smooth, syncopated vocal dexterity of Harry Connick Jr and John Pitzzarelli and the encompassing grasp of the jazz tune demonstrated by masters such as Ben Sidran, Van Morrison and especially Mose Allison.
To hear a song like Kowalczyk’s “Vampire”, which exploits gothic imagery to spin a tale of contemporary social alienation, is to realize that this singer’s groove is actually poetry - it's just that his verses are pegged to rhythm and melody. And this young performer turns out to be a deluxe balladeer, not only with his own material but with a soulful treatment of the Johnny Burke-Jimmy Van Heusen standard "Polka Dots and Moon-beams,” which beautifully evokes the late Bill Evans.
- Paul A. Harris
NEXT Magazine
If you weren’t at Eighty Eight’s the last three Tuesdays in July, get ready to kick yourself. It’s time to make up for the fact that you missed one of the best musical acts of the summer. To risk sounding like I’m putting him on a pedestal, he’s terrific. I was already biased to love the show after a glance of his stunning press photo eyes, a couple of coy phone conversations and his modest but secure position on his talent: he guaranteed a good show.
From the first note, Steven was clear and concise. There was no warm-up factor for his voice or for getting comfortable with the crowd. He was in control of his muse and he knew it.
His lyrics are meaningful, thoughtful, sometimes funny and always truthful. One minute he had me dancing in my seat with songs like “Buttercup” or “Funny ‘Bout The Heart”; the next, teary eyed with “Old” , and then laughing with “He Don’t Know”. He takes the contemporary perceptions more common to “alternative music” and blends them with jazz syncopation, swing beats and tones. The combination makes for music as refreshing as a gin and tonic on a hot summer night.
I saw his show twice. The last show was packed, and though it lacked the intensity of the first, both were flawless and entertaining.
- Chris Hayes
