Kirk Covington

Kirk Covington is an American drummer who appeared on the album "None Too Soon". He also appeared on Allan's cover version of "Michelle".

A Different View (Modern Drummer 1996)

RF: Who is on the album you just did?

AH: About a year ago, I was asked to do a track on a Mike Mainieri album, which was a collection of different guitar players doing Beatles songs. It was pretty much last-minute, so he said, "Just pick a Beatles tune, record it, and send it." I called Gordon Beck, a fantastic piano player who was in from England, and he said he had a cool arrangement of "Michelle." I knew the tune was going to be in a straight-ahead vein, and there's only one bass player who comes to my mind when I think of that: Gary Willis. I know how it is with drummers and bass players, so I asked him who he wanted to play with. He said Kirk Covington, which was fine with me. We did the track and I sent it off. They liked it and it came out. I enjoyed working with those guys, so I decided to do an album that was slightly different than my normal projects. I hadn't written any new music, so it was perfect timing. There's only one original on the album, but the rest of them are jazz standards—a John Coltrane tune, a couple of Joe Henderson tunes, familiar tunes. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

RF: So if I say Kirk Covington, what do you think of?

AH: The enjoyment I had working with him on this particular project. This was a different project from what either of us do normally, and I would love to have a chance to play with him on my own music. But that's an experience I've yet to have. I would really look forward to playing with him in a context that is outside the one we just did.

Allan Holdsworth Interview (richardhallebeek.com 1996)

-On your new album, the band exists of Gary Willis-Bass, Kirk Covington-Drums and Gordon Beck- Piano. This is a different band than you normally use. Why didn't you use your own band?

I did a compilation album a few years ago where guitar players did their rendition of Beatle Tunes. When they called me I had two days left to prepare something. Coincidently, Gordon Beck, a good friend of mine and a great piano player was staying for a few weeks at my place. It was his idea to do a rendition of ‘Michelle'. Now, I'm a big fan of Gary Willis. Especially when he plays swing, he sounds fantastic. I know the conflicts that may arise between bass players and drummers, so I asked him with whom he liked to play and he said Kirk Covington. Funny, because that's half of Scott Henderson's band Tribal Tech. We did the song pretty fast and I really liked the way things turned out, so I decided to ask them again for my new album. The problem with my own band is that they're living spread in all corners of the world. Chad Wackerman is currently living in Australia, Gary Husband is living in England, Skuli Sverison in New York and Steve Hunt in Boston. I can only get them together for a longer tour.In th e past things turned out pretty OK, but the last tours we didn't make a dime. I cannot keep asking these people to play for next to nothing. That's why I have been looking for some musician's in the neighborhood for some time now. I'm on the right path with Kirk and Gary, but at the same time I realize it's impossible to find a replacement for somebody like Gary Husband. It's also about finding a soul mate, somebody who's on the same wavelenght.'

Legato Land (Guitar Techniques 1996)

‘None Too Soon' is an unusual Holdsworth album in that none of the tunes were penned by the man himself. It features compositions by jazzers such as John Coltrane, Joe Henderson and Bill Evans instead.

"It's not a trad album. It's a bebop album, but with a wrench or two in there. I've got Gordon Beck on piano, and there's Gary Willis on bass and Kirk Covington on drums. I think it turned out pretty good and we'll probably end up doing another, but we'll use real piano next time, as poor old Gordon had to deal with a digital one -something he's not used to at all!"