Charles Covington Jr.
BornBaltimore, Maryland, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Piano
Websitecharlescovingtonjazz.com

Charles Covington Jr. is an American jazz pianist and a U.S. Life Master in chess.

Career

A native of Baltimore, Covington became interested in jazz when the high school principal broadcast music by Erroll Garner and Ahmad Jamal on the intercom.[1] He served in the U.S. Army, attended the Peabody Institute, and learned piano and organ at the Hammond School of Music.[1] He performed in clubs and at the Royal Theater.[1] After the manager of George Benson heard Covington perform in New York City, he invited him to tour with Benson.[1] He also worked with Ethel Ennis, J.J. Johnson, O'Donel Levy, and Nathan Page.[1]

An interest in chess led Covington to chess clubs in New York. He has been certified a Life Master by the U.S. Chess Federation and is considered one of the top black chess players in the country. He has written books on chess, checkers, and math.[1] For twenty years he taught at the Peabody Conservatory, then at Howard University. Covington has also performed as a magician.[1] He was the pianist for the television program BET on Jazz.[2]

Awards and honors

  • On the cover of Expo magazine as Jazz Musician of the Year, 1983[1]
  • Jazz pianist in residence, Kennedy Center[1]
  • Life Master, U.S. Chess Federation[1]

Discography

As leader

  • It's Time for Love (Jazz Karma, 1992)

As sideman

With O'Donel Levy

With Nathen Page

  • Page 1 (Hugo's Music, 1977)
  • Page 2 (Hugo's Music, 1978)
  • Plays Pretty for the People (Hugo's Music, 1979)

With others

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jones, Brian (28 March 2019). "Charles Covington, Gentle Genius". Baltimore Jazz. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. Cary, Emily (16 August 2012). "Baltimore's Renaissance man in concert". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.