BIOGRAPHY
Photo credit © Brian V. Jones
Charles Covington
Charles Covington has performed internationally in Europe and China and has made numerous TV and radio appearances. He was the featured performer for President Carter at the White House and with George Benson on The Tonight Show.
Covington's impressive career includes celebrity performances with Sammy Davis, Jr., Eartha Kitt, Larry King, Henry Kissinger, Redd Foxx and Flip Wilson. He has also been in concert with Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Eddie Harris, Zoot Simms, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, David "Fathead" Newman, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Herbie Hancock, Hank Jones, Dorothy Donnegan, Shirley Horn, B.B. King and Chuck Berry.
In 1984-85 he served as producer and resident artist for “Jazz in the Marketplace” concert series at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor where he performed with many well-known guest artists.
Kennedy Center, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the Baltimore Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Montpelier Art Center, the Eubie Blake Cultural Center and countless other venues outside the Baltimore area. Mr. Covington toured three years with George Benson, appeared on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and recorded The Shape of Things to Come. He can also be heard on numerous other recordings with J.J. Johnson, Ethel Ennis, O’Donel Levy, Nathan Page and other jazz artists. Mr. Covington was featured on the cover of Expo magazine as Jazz Musician of the Year in 1983.
Jazz Pianist in Residence at the Kennedy Center, Mr. Covington is a world-renowned Hammond B-3 organ virtuoso and performs there on a regular basis. He served on the faculty at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory of Music from 1979 until 1999 and served recently as a full-time professor of music at Howard University in Washington, D.C. His biography was published in the sixth edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers 2000, the most respected publication in the nation recognizing and honoring the nation’s finest teachers.
He is one of the top ten black chess players in America and has a "Life Master" status granted by the United States Chess Federation. Additionally he is a professional magician and has published a manuscript for magicians that is sold in magic shops nationwide. Mr. Covington has also competed in his weight class in weightlifting.
Art Tatum, Bud Powell, and John Coltrane were some of the few who each achieved the colossal feat of amending the aesthetic of jazz styles. Mr. Covington has achieved the colossal feat of demonstrating that it was possible to master all of these styles and to blend these disparate elements into a coherent, codified style by imposing the mark of his own personality.
A virtuoso pianist, organist and spectacular talent, Covington’s musical performances are enlightening and entertaining. His mastery of the keyboard is astonishing.
AWARDS & CERTIFICATES
Howard University Jazz Ensemble, The Benny Golson Jazz Master Award in recognition his legendary excellence in jazz
Howard University Award of Excellence presented to Charles Covington in recognition of his Artistic Excellence and 22 years of Dedicated Service to the Howard University Department of Music as Teacher, Mentor, and Beloved Colleague
April 9, 2014
NAASC Columbia, MD Honors Charles Covington
Lifetime Achievement
March 9, 2012
City of Baltimore Certificate of Recognition
Catherine E. Pugh, Mayor
September 14, 2018
Certificate of Special Recognition presented to Charles Covington by the Honorable C.A. Dutch Rupertberger,
2nd Congressional District, Maryland
Oct. 25, 2015
The Department of African American Studies
University of Maryland Baltimore County Honors
Charles Covington in recognition of his Artistic Contribution to the tradition and Development of Jazz Music
Feb. 8, 1987
Excellence Award presented to Charles Covington
Frédéric Douglass High School Honors Ball
Sept 10, 2010
City of Baltimore Citizen Citation
presented to Charles Covington
William Donald Shaeffer
Mayor of the City of Baltimore
August 26, 1984
The University of the District of Columbia 29th Annual Piano Competition Award of Excellence to Charles Covington HONOREE for Superior Artistic Achievements as Jazz Musician and Educator
March 3rd, 2007
10th Anniversary U.S. CHESS TEAM CHAMPION SHIP
Tied for 1st place
1981