John Michael Zov

Residing in Nashville, Tennessee, John Michael Zov issued his third album during 1998. Shake the Blues fuses blues, jazz, swing, and boogie-woogie into one distinctive sound. Zov produced the project himself at The Castle in Franklin, Tennessee, writing every lyric and melody while accompanying himself on grand piano and B-3. Journalists repeatedly called his vocals and musicianship “first rate.” Kip Paxton played bass and John Peck sat behind the drums.

One year earlier, in 1997, Zov released his second album, One Night Swing. Bob Bretz supplied guitar, Mark Perna handled bass, Dave Walters played drums, and Kenny Blake joined as special guest on saxophone. Recorded at Gamut Studios in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the set leaned heavily on cover material yet earned favorable reviews and gave Zov a platform to demonstrate his interpretive skills with familiar songs.

In 1980 Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida placed a fourteen-minute film on Canada inside the Canadian Pavilion; the piece closed with the duet “Canada You’re a Lifetime Journey for the Traveler,” which featured Zov’s voice. He has also appeared at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Harrah’s Tahoe, Sahara Tahoe, LaCosta Country Club, and Nashville’s leading jazz clubs.

Zov’s origins lie in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where he attended the same high school as Henry Mancini, Mike Ditka, and “Pistol” Pete Maravich. He takes pride in his Italian-Hungarian ancestry.

The Shake the Blues track “Back to LA” later appeared on a compilation alongside Quincy Jones, Fourplay, Joe Sample, Boney James, and others, receiving airplay on more than five hundred jazz stations. Another selection, the semi-classical “Hey Vincent,” was included on a separate anthology with Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and additional artists, also earning play on over five hundred jazz outlets.

Zov continually searched for fresh sounds to integrate into his self-produced catalog, intent on satisfying the shifting tastes of international listeners.