Jazz pianist/arranger/composer Steve Rudolph was born in 1949 in Evansville, IN, and began as a trumpet player, before moving to the keys at he age of 22. In 1977, Rudolph was invited to tour with the acclaimed Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, during which time he played alongside the likes of Helen O'Connell and the Mills Brothers. A year later, Rudolph had relocated to Harrisburg, PA, where he became the president (and founder) of the nonprofit jazz organization Central PA Friends of Jazz. From there, he toured the world with the Harrisburg Symphony and Miami's New World Symphony (the latter as a soloist), in addition to receiving such honors from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Jazz Fellowship in 1995 and Jazz Composers Fellowship 2001. Rudolph was also named the best Emerging Artist at the Jazz Times Convention in New York City in 1998, and in 1999, took the top honors in Jazziz Magazine's Seven Springs Jazz Festival Piano Competition (playing at a show alongside drummer Louie Bellson, Grammy winner Mark Murphy, Al Grey, John Blake, Jeanie Bryson, Clark Terry, Paquito D'Rivera, Herb Ellis, Carl Allen, Buddy DeFranco, Terry Gibbs). Rudolph has also had the time to issue albums with others and as a solo artist, including Everything I Love (1995) with Roger Humphries, Dwayne Dolphin, and Steve Varner; Pure Imagination (1997) with Robin Work, Paul Langosch, and Bill Goodwin; Crabtree Evelyn -- Music for Romance (1998) with the Steve Rudolph Trio; and Christmas with the Steve Rudolph Trio (1998) featuring Paul Langosch and Matt Wilson, among others. Rudolph is also a producer, earning a production credit as well as performing on Cathy Chemi's debut CD, You I, in 1999. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi