John Kolivas
Bass
Besides his work with the Honolulu Symphony, bassist John Kolivas is also the leader of the Honolulu Jazz Quartet. The quartet's debut CD, Sounds of the City (with eight tunes composed by Kolivas) was on the JazzWeek Top 50 National Jazz Radio Chart for seven weeks, peaking at No. 32. The group opened the 2003-2004 Honolulu Symphony Pops season (sharing the bill with James Ingram) with full orchestra arrangements by Maestro Matt Catingub.
Kolivas grew up in a musical household where his mother played classical piano and his dad was a jazz saxophonist. John has performed with many jazz luminaries including Larry Coryell, Herb Ellis, Makoto Ozone, Valery Ponomarev, John Pizzarelli, Bud Shank, Robin Eubanks, Jimmy Rowles, Tiger Okoshi, George Benson, Grady Tate, Richie Cole, Nestor Torres, Gabe Baltazar, Richie Pratt, Azure McCall, Betty Loo Taylor, and Flip Nunez. In his New York days, John performed on Broadway in The Tap Dance Kid and Big River, and on tour with The Pirates of Penzance and The Gregory Hines Show. As a member of the Honolulu Symphony, John has also performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Denyce Graves, Tan Dun, Andre Watts, and Pinchas Zukerman. Kolivas can also be heard with Hawai'ian Slack Key guitar masters Keola Beamer, Kapono Beamer and vocalist Keali'i Reichel. He also teaches private bass lessons and a summer jazz combo workshop at the prestigious Punahou School in Honolulu. John lists Rufus Reid, Francois Rabbath, and Mike Gorman as his major bass instructors.
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johnhso@honolulujazzquartet.com
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