Eight days a week….for most business owners, that seems to be a standard work schedule. For couples in business together, it may seem longer than that as they strive to mantain company profits and connubial bliss at the same time. But the region has no shortage of couples who have taken both the matrimonial and entrepreneurial plunge…..and
‘lived to tell about it. They seem to already know some of the trade secrets that Susan Gunn—owner of Working Dynamics who consults on workplace issues–has for business partners who are also life partners. All business relationships take work. Three key elements for ALL work relationships and their success are effective communication, trust and respect.” Gunn says.
For one couple in Westover Hills, their best communication comes through their music.
She’s the sultry jazz singer…he’s her “roadie” and former protege of Carlos Santana. Together Carol and Ken Covell are in the business of making music, providing Richmonders with what they bill as “A Sensual Jazz Experience” in venues around town. On a recent Saturday night, they were setting up for an 8:00 p.m. performance at Bella Arte Restaurant on Northside. It’s an intimate and inviting spot where they obviously feel very much at home. Carol reviews her song list with her two musicians, one on keyboard, one on upright bass. Ken, finished with equipment chores, jokes with friends at the bar.
Then it’s showtime! The house lights come down and candles flicker on the tables. Statuesque in an elegant black dress, Carol exudes a strking stage presence as her warm voice envelopes the room. The music swirls and eddies around the tinkling of wine glasses as her trio glides through such classics as “Deed I Do,” ‘Ain’t Misbehavin” and “Our Love Is Here To Stay.”
Not surprisingly, Carol credits Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald as major influences. Her early experience in the church choir may have contributed to her natural ease at the microphone, but she only started singing professionally a couple of years ago. For many of the 28 years that she and Ken have been married, Ken was the performer of the family. He started out in New York doing some “sitting in around town.” playing drums, congas and bongos with Santana. Ken also sat-in on an album with blues icon Big Joe Turner, whose hits in the 50s included “Shake, Rattle & Roll.” Music took precedence over regular nine to five jobs in those days. “In New York, I would work somewhere long enough to be eligible for unemployment,” Ken jokes. Admittedly he wasn’t doing much with the zoology degree he earned at Washington State University near his hometown of Seattle.
He got a job as a music teacher in Stamford, Connecticut, Carol’s hometown, where they met. Then he hit the right lick as a computer analyst, which led to the Covells’ transfer to Richmond in 1992.
For a while, Carol worked at UNOS doing data entry on applicants waiting for donated organs. Ken started sitting in on local jam sessions and Carol sat in the audience though friends kept telling her she should get up and sing. Finally after a Christmas party where she sang a cappella, Carol took herself off the sidelines. Debuting in 2002 as Carol Covell & Company, she and a cadre of musicians began playing in locations such as the former Main Street Beer Company. “Now it’s a full-time job, including the management side,” Carol says. She handes the bookings and promotion, lining up dates at Jumpin’ J’s Java in Churchill and Brio Tuscan Grille in Stony Point Fashion Park. Ken helps helps with setting up equipment and filling in on drums when needed. In terms of working together, it’s apparent the Covells have struck the right chord.
“Our idea of success is that we can enjoy and share music together,” Ken says.
Their loyal audiences are glad that they share it with them as well.
