Kavin Hoo
To evoke emotion in music is a difficult thing for most people to do, but it is something that Kavin Hoo does with ease. His ability to bring passion to his piano styling has always been second nature, and that has helped to form the mold for Kavin's music. Born in Malaysia in 1975, Kavin began his musical training at the early age of 5. His mother started him on piano lessons, and just like every other kids, they were a burden to young Kavin. In 1982, Kavin studied under the tutelage of local piano educator Madam Wong Kae Chee. She was strict but compassionate and it was through her teachings that he began to hear the intricate melodies and feel the undeniable passion for music in Classical pieces by composers such as Claude Debussy and Beethoven. As a result, Kavin began to take his musical training even more seriously. At a tender age of 15, Kavin's perseverance and effort bore fruit when he received the highest marks in South-East Asia for his Performance Certificate from Trinity College of Music, London - A college that was, and still is, considered as one of the world's leading international examinations board in the performing and communicative arts. At that time, Kavin naively thought he had learnt everything that could be learnt about music. It was not until Kavin's introduction to the sound of jazz at age 18 that he realizes that his musical journey was far from over. "When I first heard Keith Jarrett play "Country Road", I was struck speechless. All my hair on my arms were standing up... it was a very special moment for me," says Hoo. This was to be the beginning of an emotional ride that would eventually lead to studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Upon entering Berklee in the fall of 1996, Kavin was overwhelmed with the talent and competition that the school had to offer. The broad choice of majors left Hoo with a divided mind, though he eventually decided on majoring in Professional Music, with an emphasis on arranging. While there, Kavin also began to develop an ear for production and engineering, eventually building his own full-fledged recording studio and producing demos for many local artists. By this point, Kavin's keyboard skills had soared way beyond even his own expectations. "I never really knew what was going to happen to me at Berklee. I knew I wanted to learn jazz, but I learned much more than just learning how to play it. I learned how to feel it." It was this turning point in Kavin's life that left him yearning to perform his own music. "I have been writing songs since I was 12, but I never felt like I was playing them the way I wanted to hear them." So Kavin produced and engineered a demo featuring his own compositions and arrangements. "I've always been so inspired by musicians like David Benoit, Dave Grusin and David Foster. Their ability to tackle everything from production to songwriting to playing is extraordinary and is a responsibility I long for." Now Kavin runs a successful music production company, Earthtones Studio, in Los Angeles. He has produced & arranged for asian artist Tanya Chua, co-produced with Corrinne May on all of her records, of which the latest one “Beautiful Seed” went on to be the #1 selling album in Singapore on the week it was released. Kavin’s song “Comin’ at Cha”, a song written and arranged for smooth jazz artist Walter Beasley, rose to the #3 spot on the Radio & Records charts. His various piano & instrumental albums under the Compass/Somerset label has sold well over 1,000,000 copies to date. So where does this leave him? "I just want to make an impact on the world with my music. Whether one person hears it or a million, it's all the same to me." Well put.