Okonski
Steve Okonski of Durand Jones & The Indications leads a dusty, late-night soul-jazz piano trio on Colemine Records — Guaraldi warmth after hours.
Okonski is the trio led by pianist Steve Okonski, based in Asheville, North Carolina, and known separately for his keyboard work in Durand Jones & The Indications. The band is completed by Michael Isvara Montgomery on upright bass and Aaron Frazer on drums, working in a piano-bass-drums format built for mood rather than display.
Much of what the trio records is improvised on the spot and cut straight to tape, with little revision afterward. The results lean into soul-jazz and gospel voicings and the softer end of library and film music, favouring room tone, brushes and restraint over solos, and have been described as meditative and introspective.
The pieces tend to be short and melodic, built around space between notes as much as the notes themselves, closer to mood writing than to a conventional jazz trio session. Okonski has also worked as a collaborator outside the trio, contributing to records by Say She She, BJ the Chicago Kid and Scott McMicken.
All three Okonski releases, including 2025's Entrance Music, have come out on the soul-focused Colemine label.
Okonski at a glance
Where is Okonski from?
Okonski is from Ohio.
What kind of music does Okonski play?
Okonski is tagged soul-jazz and piano trio.
What festivals has Okonski played before?
Okonski has played Hopscotch 2026.
Also on these bills
Parlor GreensDexter and the MoonrocksMommaLiz CooperLeo Brooks BandCory WongDUCKWRTHThee SinseersButcher BrownKing PrincessSoccer MommyWILLIS
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