Jazz pianist, composer and jazz piano instructor Steve Million has lived and worked in Chicago since 1988, having previously lived and worked in Kansas City, MO, and New York. He has taught jazz piano privately at Merit School of Music since 2002, has developed an innovative jazz piano class, and leads the Honors Jazz Combo, made up of some of the finest young musicians in Chicago. From 1995 until 2002, Million taught jazz piano at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. In 1988, he was a semi-finalist in the internationally renowned Thelonious Monk Piano Competition. Since 2005, Million has held a steady gig performing five nights a week with the Eric Hochberg Trio at the popular downtown Chicago restaurant Catch 35. Among the artists who have performed with the trio are Dee Alexander, Sarah Marie Young, Greg Ward, Andy Brown, Pat Mallinger, Geof Bradfield and Victor Garcia. Million has three CD releases on Palmetto Records: Million to One (1995), Thanks a Million (1997) and Truth Is (1999). These recordings featured Million’s writing, playing and arranging skills in the company of artists such as Randy Brecker, Chris Potter, Dick Oatts, Steve Cardenas, Ron Vincent and Micheal Moore. His other releases include the trio recording Poetic Necessities (2002, BluJazz Records) and a solo piano release, Remembering the Way Home (2008, Origin). In addition Million co-leads a band with trombonist Andy Baker called BakerzMillion that released a CD in 2010 entitled Mood Point. The band has a new digital release to be released this fall on the esteemed Delmark Records label. www.stevemillion.com.