Jeff Bova
Encyclopedia
Jeff Bova is an American Grammy Award
winning keyboardist
, composer
, arranger
and record producer
. He has been active in music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to dozens of recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion
, Michael Jackson
, Blondie
, Eric Clapton
, Joe Cocker
, Cyndi Lauper
, Bill Laswell
and Herbie Hancock
, Bernard Edwards
and Tony Thompson
, Meat Loaf
, Missing Persons, Iron Maiden
, and Billy Joel
among others.
and the Manhattan School of Music
. Although he also had arranging and composition lessons by trumpet legend Maury Deutsch
, he would choose to specialize in keyboards instead. After leaving college he participated in a Connecticut based jazz fusion
band called "Flying Island" and later on he moved back to New York to find a place into the R&B group Change
(from 1982 to 1984).
, he met avant-garde
bassist
and record producer
Bill Laswell
, who was set to produce Herbie Hancock
's Future Shock (the first part of the latter's "techno-funk" trilogy). The tour in support of that album found Bova on Hancock's live band, as he was proficient in the ARP Chroma
(a much heard instrument on Future Shock). He would work with him for the next 5 years, contributing to the recordings of the final part of the trilogy (Perfect Machine
), while he also programmed and composed tracks for several of the soundtracks Hancock has been working on, including that of the Sean Penn
film Colours
. Soon after, he started working on numerous projects that where held in the Power Station
and eventually obtained a room of his own there (courtesy of the studio's owners Tony Bongiovi
and Bob Walters). In 1987 fellow Power Station "resident", bassist Bernard Edwards
(of Chic
), formed the rock-funk supergroup
Distance
, with Bova on keyboards, Tony Thompson
(also of Chic) on drums, future Bad Company
member Robert Hart
on lead vocals and Eddie Martinez
on guitars. They released only one album, 1989's Under the One Sky on Reprise Records
, which failed to chart.
's Grammy Award
winning album Falling into You
. He also toured with Meat Loaf
as an organist
. "Back Into Hell", an instrumental track off of Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell
, was compiled entirely by him, while "Fiesta De Las Almas Perdidas", a short song also written by Bova, was featured in Meat Loaf's 1995 album 'Welcome to the Neighborhood
'.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He has been active in music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to dozens of recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
and Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Bernard Edwards
Bernard Edwards
Bernard Edwards born in Greenville, North Carolina, was a bass player and record producer, both as a member of the Funk/Disco band Chic and on his own. He died of pneumonia while touring in Japan.-History:...
and Tony Thompson
Tony Thompson
Anthony T. "Tony" Thompson was a session drummer best known as a member of Chic. He was raised in the middle-class community of Springfield Gardens, in Queens, NY.-Chic:...
, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, Missing Persons, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
among others.
Early life
Born in Washington D.C., he grew up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Being the son of a professional trumpet player, he took the instrument up for himself during elementary school and continued with it through the Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
and the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
. Although he also had arranging and composition lessons by trumpet legend Maury Deutsch
Maury Deutsch
Maury Deutsch is a musician who has played the trumpet from an early age. He is one of the most prolific and accomplished arranger-composers of his time, and in New York history. Deutsch was born and raised on the Lowest East Side of Manhattan, New York...
, he would choose to specialize in keyboards instead. After leaving college he participated in a Connecticut based jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
band called "Flying Island" and later on he moved back to New York to find a place into the R&B group Change
Change (band)
Change was an Italian-American post-disco group formed in Bologna, Italy in 1979 by businessman and executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi...
(from 1982 to 1984).
1980s
In 1983, and after having worked with Nona HendryxNona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx is an American vocalist, producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, dance, and R&B to hard rock, art...
, he met avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, who was set to produce Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
's Future Shock (the first part of the latter's "techno-funk" trilogy). The tour in support of that album found Bova on Hancock's live band, as he was proficient in the ARP Chroma
ARP Chroma
The ARP Chroma is a model of polyphonic synthesizer developed in 1981 by ARP Instruments, Inc. just before that company's bankruptcy and collapse. The design was eventually released by Fender as the Rhodes Chroma, and was one of the early microprocessor-based Analog synthesizers...
(a much heard instrument on Future Shock). He would work with him for the next 5 years, contributing to the recordings of the final part of the trilogy (Perfect Machine
Perfect Machine (album)
Perfect Machine is the thirty-seventh album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, and the last with the Rockit Band.-About the Album:The last of the three Rockit band albums, Perfect Machine was also Hancock's final album for Columbia Records and is considered the least popular of the three Rockit band...
), while he also programmed and composed tracks for several of the soundtracks Hancock has been working on, including that of the Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
film Colours
Colors (film)
Colors is a 1988 police procedural crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and directed by Dennis Hopper. The story takes place in South Central Los Angeles, and is about Bob Hodges , an experienced LAPD Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums Police Officer III, and his rookie partner,...
. Soon after, he started working on numerous projects that where held in the Power Station
Avatar Studios
Avatar Studios, formerly known as The Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City.The building was originally a Consolidated Edison power plant; but after a period of vacancy, it was used as a sound stage for the television game show Let's Make a Deal...
and eventually obtained a room of his own there (courtesy of the studio's owners Tony Bongiovi
Tony Bongiovi
Tony Bongiovi is a record producer and recording engineer with expertise in Electrical & Acoustical Engineering. He helped to remodel an old building in Manhattan—once a power plant for Edison, and later a television studio—into the Power Station recording studio in 1977.Bongiovi was born in the...
and Bob Walters). In 1987 fellow Power Station "resident", bassist Bernard Edwards
Bernard Edwards
Bernard Edwards born in Greenville, North Carolina, was a bass player and record producer, both as a member of the Funk/Disco band Chic and on his own. He died of pneumonia while touring in Japan.-History:...
(of Chic
Chic (band)
Chic was an African American disco and R&B band that was organized during 1976 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It is known best for its commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance " , "Everybody Dance" , "Le Freak" , "I Want Your Love" , "Good Times"...
), formed the rock-funk supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Distance
Distance (band)
Distance was a late-1980s rock/funk band led by bassist/producer Bernard Edwards, patterned after the Power Station. The band was composed of former Chic and Power Station members Edwards and Tony Thompson with future Bad Company member Robert Hart on lead vocals, and noted session musicians...
, with Bova on keyboards, Tony Thompson
Tony Thompson
Anthony T. "Tony" Thompson was a session drummer best known as a member of Chic. He was raised in the middle-class community of Springfield Gardens, in Queens, NY.-Chic:...
(also of Chic) on drums, future Bad Company
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
member Robert Hart
Robert Hart
Robert Hart, Bob Hart, or Bobby Hart may refer to:* Bob Hart , a.k.a. Al Trace, American musician* Bob Hart , American bass player* Bobby Hart , American songwriter...
on lead vocals and Eddie Martinez
Eddie Martinez
Eddie Martinez is an American guitarist, born and raised in New York City, who mainly functions as a session musician. He has worked with David Lee Roth , Run-D.M.C. , Robert Palmer , Meat Loaf , several Jim Steinman projects, and many others...
on guitars. They released only one album, 1989's Under the One Sky on Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, which failed to chart.
1990s
During the 1990s Bova achieved great commercial success as a producer of Celine DionCeline Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning album Falling into You
Falling into You
Falling into You is an album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on March 8, 1996. It is her fourth English-language album and twenty-first overall...
. He also toured with Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
as an organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
. "Back Into Hell", an instrumental track off of Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell
Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell
Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell is a 1993 studio album by Meat Loaf and was written and produced by Jim Steinman. It was released sixteen years after Meat Loaf's second solo album Bat Out of Hell. It reached #1 in the US, the UK and Australia...
, was compiled entirely by him, while "Fiesta De Las Almas Perdidas", a short song also written by Bova, was featured in Meat Loaf's 1995 album 'Welcome to the Neighborhood
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Welcome to the Neighbourhood is Meat Loaf's seventh studio album, released in 1995 as follow-up to the popular album Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. The album went platinum in the US and UK....
'.
Partial discography
Partial Jeff Bova's discography, as a keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer:- RiptideRiptide (album)Riptide is the ninth solo album by the British singer Robert Palmer, released in November 1985. It featured his hit single "Addicted to Love" which reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986, helped by a memorable music video...
- Robert Palmer, 1985 - StarpeaceStarpeaceStarpeace is Yoko Ono's 1985 concept album, designed to spread a message of peace around the world as an opposition to Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" missile defense system...
- Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, 1985 - True ColorsTrue Colors*Unreleased tracks:**"Heading for the Moon" appeared as the B-side of "True Colors".**"Heartbeats", which was just an extended mix of the "Change of Heart" bass & drums, appeared on the 12" single of "Change of Heart"....
- Cyndi LauperCyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, 1986 - Eat 'Em and Smile - David Lee RothDavid Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
, 1986 - The BridgeThe Bridge (Billy Joel album)The Bridge is Billy Joel's 10th studio album released by Columbia Records in 1986 and was his final album to be produced by Phil Ramone...
- Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, 1986 - Color in Your LifeColor in Your LifeColor in Your Life is the third and final album by American new wave band Missing Persons, released in 1986 .-Track listing:All songs by Missing Persons, except where noted#"Color in Your Life" – 5:00...
- Missing Persons, 1986 - Perfect MachinePerfect Machine (album)Perfect Machine is the thirty-seventh album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, and the last with the Rockit Band.-About the Album:The last of the three Rockit band albums, Perfect Machine was also Hancock's final album for Columbia Records and is considered the least popular of the three Rockit band...
- Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, 1988 - Instinct - Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, 1988 - Original Sin - Pandora's BoxPandora's Box (band)Pandora's Box was a female pop music group assembled by Jim Steinman in the 1980s. Some of its members had previously worked with Steinman, in the ensemble Fire Inc., on the album Bat Out of Hell, on live shows and on other studio recordings...
, 1989 - A Night to Remember - Cyndi LauperCyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, 1989 - Jody WatleyJody Watley (album)Jody Watley is the self-titled debut album by American pop singer Jody Watley, released in 1987 . Although very successful as part of the R&B trio Shalamar, the impact of this solo debut made Watley a cultural style icon in R&B, pop, and dance music...
- Jody WatleyJody WatleyJody Vanessa Watley is an American, singer, songwriter, record producer, and founder of Avitone Records whose music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul....
, 1989 - Under the One Sky - DistanceDistance (band)Distance was a late-1980s rock/funk band led by bassist/producer Bernard Edwards, patterned after the Power Station. The band was composed of former Chic and Power Station members Edwards and Tony Thompson with future Bad Company member Robert Hart on lead vocals, and noted session musicians...
, 1989 - JourneymanJourneyman (album)Journeyman is an album by blues/rock musician Eric Clapton, released in 1989.The album has an electronic sound, mostly influenced by the '80s rock scene, but it also had blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me", "Running On Faith", and "Hard Times"...
- Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, 1989 - Stranger in This TownStranger In This Town-Personnel:* Richie Sambora - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals, producer, string arrangements* David Bryan - keyboards, string arrangements* Tico Torres - drums, percussion* Dean Fasano - background vocals* Tony Levin - bass guitar, Chapman Stick...
- Richie SamboraRichie SamboraRichard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
, 1991 - Bat out of Hell II: Back into HellBat out of Hell II: Back into HellBat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell is a 1993 studio album by Meat Loaf and was written and produced by Jim Steinman. It was released sixteen years after Meat Loaf's second solo album Bat Out of Hell. It reached #1 in the US, the UK and Australia...
- Meat LoafMeat LoafMichael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, 1993 - HIStoryHIStoryHIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is the ninth studio album by American songwriter and recording artist Michael Jackson, released on June 16, 1995 by Epic Records. The majority of the album's tracks were written and produced by Jackson...
- Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, 1995 - Welcome to the NeighborhoodWelcome to the NeighborhoodWelcome to the Neighbourhood is Meat Loaf's seventh studio album, released in 1995 as follow-up to the popular album Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. The album went platinum in the US and UK....
- Meat LoafMeat LoafMichael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, 1995 - Falling into YouFalling into YouFalling into You is an album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on March 8, 1996. It is her fourth English-language album and twenty-first overall...
- Celine DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, 1996 - Stories Told & UntoldStories Told & UntoldStories Told & Untold is a reprise album by hard rock band Bad Company released in 1996. It was the last with the 1995 line-up of Bad Company including Robert Hart, who had replaced Brian Howe, on lead vocals...
- Bad CompanyBad CompanyBad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
, 1996 - In Deep - Tina ArenaTina ArenaFilippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
, 1997 - Talk to MeTalk to Me (album)Talk to Me is the fifth solo effort from Joey McIntyre, member of New Kids on the Block. These are smooth, contemporary renditions of classic songs previously recorded by Frank Sinatra and other great singers...
- Joe McIntyre, 2006