Steve Crews '75

Recipient of a “Best of Louisville” Award in Music, Steve Crews has taught piano and jazz studies in Louisville since 1978. A Louisville native, he received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Louisville. From 1978 to 1990 he served on the music faculty of Bellarmine University and was honored with Local 11-637’s 1991 “Musician of the Year” Award.

Crews was an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Louisville. A former President of the School of Music Alumni Association and board member of the Friends of the School of Music, he was a recipient of the 1998 UofL Alumni Service Award. Crews taught for ten years at the Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop. He was awarded a 1995 Al Smith Artists’ Fellowship for composition by the Kentucky Arts Council. Crews was selected as a member of the Leadership Kentucky Class of 1999.

Crews is a pianist, composer, and arranger. Having often performed as an auxiliary member of the Louisville Orchestra, Crews’ trio was featured on the NightLites series. He was a featured soloist with the University of Louisville Band. His arrangement of The Judy Dances was a Louisville Ballet premiere.

Crews’ performances have taken him from Perm, Russia (the International Jazz Festival) to Cork, Ireland (the Guinness Jazz Festival) to England and Wales (with the UofL Jazz Ensemble. Since 2001, Crews has performed regionally in schools with the Jammin’ with Jamey program, playing regularly with the Jamey Aebersold Quartet. He has appeared as the pianist with the Harry James Orchestra. Crews is the house pianist at Louisville’s Jack Fry’s.

Crews earned his private pilot’s license from Bowman Field. He has lived in Louisville’s Clifton neighborhood for 31 years with his wife Debbie Shannon.

Donors who wish to celebrate Steve Crews’s achievements as an honoree are encouraged to make a gift to the School of Music’s Jazz Scholarships.

Make a Gift