Drumming News
Watch live tonight, Wednesday May 8th, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. PST, only on HITKOR.
The Jeff Hamilton Organ Trio featuring Akiko Tsuruga and Steve Kovalcheck
A very special night of World-Class Jazz music with one of the prominent trios in the genre! Master musician and globally recognized drummer Jeff Hamilton (Dianna Krall, Ray Brown, Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) along with famed Japanese organist Akiko Tsuruga, have recorded several albums together and have toured the globe in their organ based setting. Colorado Based composer and Jazz Guitarist Steve Kovalcheck joins the trio for a tour in 2024 and for this very special live performance on the HITKOR “Showcase” series. Only 25 “On-Site” Tickets are available for this incredible opportunity to witness some of the greats of their time, firing on all cylinders!
Jeff Hamiltonbegin playing drums to the records of the great Oscar Peterson. Today, he is an icon of the instrument and featured with some of the top names in jazz and pop. He has played on more than 200 recordings, 22 of which received Grammy® nominations. He also performs and records frequently with his own trio and as co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Hamilton’s early engagements included the New Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Lionel Hampton’s Band before joining the Monty Alexander Trio in 1975 with bassist John Clayton. From 1983 to 1987, he performed with Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie & His Orchestra, and Rosemary Clooney. Prior to forming his own trio in 1995, Jeff played with the Ray Brown Trio. The Los Angeles Jazz Society named Jeff Musician of the Year, and he was recently voted #1 Jazz Drummer in Modern Drummer Magazine’s reader’s poll.
Raised in Osaka, Japan, Akiko Tsuruga began studying the organ at the age of three, at the famed Yamaha Music School and eventually graduated from the Osaka College of Music. Akiko began working with artists like Jimmy Cobb, Frank Hess, and Lou Donaldson (whose quartet she joined in 2007). As a bandleader, Akiko has ten albums to her credit both the U.S. and Japan. Her albums have constantly placed in the top ten on the National Radio Jazz Chart. Akiko also received the “Swing Journal Rising Star Award” (Japan) in 2010, Hot House Magazine (NYC) Best Organist’ in 2017, and the DOWNBEAT Magazine Critics Poll 2020 Rising Star Organ.
Steve Kovalcheck graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and achieved an M.M. From the University of Northern Colorado, where he currently teaches. Kovalcheck has spent many years recording and touring with Columbia recording artist Robinella and the C.C. String Band. He has performed with artists including Victor Krauss, The “New York Voices,” The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Symphony, The Nashville Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Coffin, Tommy Sims, Blue Note Recording Artist Carrie Rodriguez, The Dana Landry Quartet, and then Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
Get your live streaming ticket: HERE
