KCSM Radio: Studio 91 – Episode 3: Steve Holt, Renowned Jazz Pianist

Noah McDonough
Sep 16
1 min read

Airdate: 09.18.25- 5pm Pacific Time

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on Facebook → Here

🎶 Catch the Replay → Comming Soon

📖 Full Episode Recaps → Here

🎟 RSVP to Episodes → Here

Welcome to Episode 3: Steve Holt, Renowned Jazz Pianist

For our third Studio 91 installment, we shift from the Vinyl Vault to an intimate air-studio conversation with acclaimed Canadian jazz pianist Steve Holt—a Montreal native who was playing piano by age four and working the local club scene as a teenager.

Holt earned McGill University’s first Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance (1981) and later taught jazz improvisation there, all while traveling to New York for private studies with Kenny Barron.

On the bandstand and in the studio, Holt has worked with towering figures including Archie Shepp, Larry Coryell, James Moody, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, and Michel Urbaniak—a career arc that began with his Juno-nominated 1983 debut, The Lion’s Eyes.

Why it matters: Studio 91 isn’t just about performances; it’s about documenting the people who carry this music forward. Holt’s story bridges Montreal clubs, McGill classrooms, New York mentorship, and collaborations with jazz heavyweights—proof that the signal of jazz is local, global, and very much alive.

📻 Tune in Thursday, September 18th at 5PM on KCSM HD2 to catch this special broadcast.

🎹 Studio 91 – Episode 3: Proof that the signal of jazz reaches far beyond the Bay.