When not performing or composing for Trio Paradiso, accordionist Rich Kuhns squeezes out a living in various other musical contexts. He recently returned from a European tour with Harry Belafonte. A member of the Latin jazz ensemble Soul Sauce, he also performs and records with Brazilian vocalist Claudia Villela and Venezuelan vocalist Maria Marquez. His accordion can be heard on a number of feature filmscores, the most recent being a Merchant/Ivory film The Mystic Masseur. In October 2002 he composed and performed an original score on solo accordion to accompany the silent film Nosferatu at the Fine Arts Cinema in Berkeley.
With the Andy Narell group Steve recorded seven albums and toured extensively, performing at such venues as the Montreaux Jazz Festival, The Berlin Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. Steve's recently released CD "Cafe Paradiso"(IMAGINARY ROAD RECORDS) was on the Billboard Classical/Crossover chart for 11 weeks, reaching #10. "Erkiology", released in 1992, features Peter Erskine, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Sheppard and other noted players. It reached #3 on the jazz airplay charts.
Music has also given him the opportunity to travel to South America, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Montreaux Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, Finger Lakes Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and in many other countries and places.