I'm a freelance musician living in Washington State, where I'm raising a family. I've played in many situations and made recordings with Nancy King (the superb singer from Oregon) and others - including Skol Brothers, who I compose and arrange for...want to hear some samples? Click on the Music tab, at right -
Steve Christofferson was a garage-band guitarist/singer who migrated to the piano while listening to the Beatles “White Album”. He has played piano at nightclubs and jazz festivals around the world with Nancy King, toured Europe with the Alan Jones Sextet, and performed in China with Mia Nicholson. He has worked with Jim Pepper, Jack Sheldon, Kurt Elling, Karrin Allyson and many others. Steve is heard on recordings with Nancy King, The Metropole Orchestra and Skol Brothers, the electric quintet that features Steve’s compositions.
I started working as a pianist in the late 70's, playing for tips at the Jazz Quarry in Portland. After a few months I joined Cruise Control, a quintet featuring Nancy King.
When the band broke up Nancy and I began working as a duo, and with Rob Thomas, Lawrence Williams, Tom Wakeling, and William Thomas. I also gigged with Barbara Donald, Eddie Moore, Jim Pepper, and Jack Sheldon. I taught improvisation at Portland Public Schools, Mt. Hood CC and Univ. of Nevada's summer jazz camp.
From '85 - '98 I was house pianist at the Riverplace Hotel. I produced 2 cd's - To The Last Holdouts & Harmonic Tremors. Nancy & I played festivals in Israel and France. We made a recording for Netherlands Radio with the Metropole Orchestra, released as a cd called Straight Into Your Heart.
We played every Tuesday in Portland at Jazz De Opus and gave workshops and performances in Seattle, New Orleans, Houston, Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco. I helped produce Mary Kadderly's I Go Zoom, a cd the Oregonian described as “...a gorgeous musical package, smooth, intelligent and impeccably soulful” and toured Europe with the Alan Jones Sextet.
In ’99 Nancy and I were featured at the Bansko (Bulgaria) Jazz Fest, recorded for Robert Moore (Cool Blue, with David Pulphus and Johnny Vidacovich) and played the Telluride JF with Tom Wakeling. I was producer/arranger for a Tom Grant single on Windam Hill.
Dream Lands - my duo recordings with Nancy, commissioned by the CBC - was released in 2000. We performed arrangements from Straight Into Your Heart with conductor James DePriest and The Oregon Symphony and gave concerts and workshops around the US. I played on Murray’s Cadillac (a Ben Wolfe cd).
After some Canadian festival gigs, Nancy and I joined the faculty of Bud Shank's Jazz Workshop. Dream Lands received airplay on NPR and Dream Lands vol. 2 was released. In '02 we gave sold-out concerts in Israel, and returned there in '03 to collaborate with the Guri Augmon/Holon Big Band plus string orchestra.
In 2004 singer Mia Nicholson and I played in China at the Suzhou International Arts Festival, and I released Skol Brothers - my 2nd original tunes project. Reviewer Joseph Blake describes it as "Low-down, funky modern jazz with a high-concept pop-inspired soul."
In 2005 I worked with Nancy in New York, Australia and Southern California, and at Abou Karim restaurant, our semi-regular gig in Portland. In 2006 we made appearances at festivals and workshops in the US, Canada, and Chile (Colchagua Jazz). 2007 gigs include The JazzSchool, Kuumbwa Jazz (a collaboration with Claudia Villela & Ricardo Peixoto) and the Cathedral Park and San Francisco jazz festivals.
Steve started working as a pianist in the late 70's, playing for tips at the Jazz Quarry in Portland. A few months later he joined Cruise Control, a quintet featuring singer/underground legend Nancy King.
He continued working with Nancy after the band broke up, and also played gigs with Barbara Donald, Eddie Moore, Jack Sheldon, and Jim Pepper. He taught jazz improvisation for Portland Public Schools, Mt. Hood CC and the Univ. of Nevada's summer camp.
From 1985-99 he was house pianist at the Riverplace Hotel. Steve and Nancy played festivals in Israel and France, and made a recording in Holland with the 54-piece Metropole Orchestra, released on the Mons label as Straight Into Your Heart.
The duo gigged every Tuesday in Portland at Jazz De Opus, also appearing at workshops and concerts in Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and New Orleans. Steve arranged and produced Mary Kadderly’s I Go Zoom, a cd the Oregonian described as “A gorgeous musical package…smooth and intelligent… impeccably soulful”, and toured Europe with the Alan Jones Sextet.
In ’99 Steve and Nancy were headliners at the Bansko (Bulgaria) Jazz Fest, recorded for Robert Moore (Cool Blue) and played the Telluride Fest with Tom Wakeling. Steve produced a Tom Grant single for the Windam Hill Xmas Sampler and played a concert in Chicago with Karrin Allyson.
In 2000 Stellar Records released Dream Lands, a compilation of Steve's recordings with Nancy commissioned by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. They performed the arrangements from Straight Into Your Heart with the Oregon Symphony, and gave concerts and workshops around the US. Steve recorded with Ben Wolfe for his Murray’s Cadillac cd.
2001-02 Steve and Nancy performed at jazz festivals across western Canada and joined the faculty of Bud Shank’s Jazz Workshop. Selections from Dream Lands were featured on NPR stations, and Dream Lands vol. 2 was released. Steve and Nancy played sold-out concerts in Israel, and returned there in 2003 for a concert with Guri Augmon and the Holon Big Band plus string orchestra.
In 2004 Steve played in China at the Suzhou International Arts Fest with singer Mia Nicholson. He produced his second cd of original tunes - Skol Brothers - which reviewer Joseph Blake describes as "Low-down, funky modern jazz with a high-concept pop-inspired soul."
2005-06 Steve and Nancy toured Australia and appeared in Seattle, New York and LA for nightclub gigs and workshops. Steve was a clinician at two of the largest high school/collegiate festivals - UNC’s Greeley Jazz Fest, and UNR’s Reno Jazz Fest, and was featured with Nancy at the Colchagua Jazz Fest in Chile.
Upcoming gigs include the San Francisco Jazz Festival and the Tel Aviv Opera House.