Kenny Werner

Kenny Werner

Photo by Nick Myers & Aaron Rockers
Background information
Born (1951-11-19)November 19, 1951
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Piano
Years active 1961–present
Labels Concord, RCA, Double-Time, Half Note, Justin Time
Associated acts Joe Lovano, Betty Buckley
Website www.kennywerner.com

Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist and composer.[1]

Early life

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, New York, Werner began playing and performing at a young age, first recording on television at the age of 11. Although he studied classical piano as a child, he enjoyed playing anything he heard on the radio and improvisation was his true calling. In high school and his first years of college he attended the Manhattan School of Music as a classical piano major.

His aptitude for improvisation led him to the Berklee School of Music in 1970, where he met and studied with his first piano/spiritual teacher, Madame Chaloff.

From Boston, Werner traveled to Brazil with the saxophonist Victor Assis Brasil. There he met Assis's twin brother, Brazilian pianist Joao Assis Brasil. His studies with Joao and Madame Chaloff would lead to the writing of the book Effortless Mastery.

Later life and career

Werner started his own trio in 1981 with drummer Tom Rainey and bassist Ratzo Harris. The Kenny Werner Trio matured for fourteen years, touring in America and Europe and recording four albums along the way.

In the 1980s, he became the pianist for The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (currently known as the Village Vanguard Orchestra). Challenged by Lewis and Bob Brookmeyer to write for the band, he produced his first compositions and arrangements for jazz orchestra, consequently leading him to write for the bands in Europe including the Cologne, Danish, and Stockholm Jazz Orchestras, the Umo Jazz Orchestra of Finland and several times as the guest composer and soloist with the Metropole Orchestra of Holland. Since then Werner has had commissions to write for large ensembles such as jazz orchestras, full orchestras and most in 2007, wind ensemble, choir and string quartet as featured on his album No Beginning, No End (2009).

Werner continued to play duo with Toots Thielemans for seventeen years. They recorded an album together and Werner received a Grammy nomination for his composition, "Inspiration." For twenty years, he was musical director for Broadway star Betty Buckley.[1] They made six albums together and she has sung his arrangements for small bands and orchestras. He and Joe Lovano have recorded and collaborated on each other's projects for over 40 years.

During the 1990s, Werner made three award-winning albums: Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Vol. 34, Concord Duo Series, Vol. 10, and Live at Visiones.[1]

In 2000, Werner formed a trio with Ari Hoenig on drums and Johannes Weidenmueller on bass, with Werner acting as composer, arranger, and pianist. In 2007, he released his first album for Blue Note Records. Lawn Chair Society, featuring Chris Potter, Dave Douglas, Scott Colley, and Brian Blade.

Werner was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for the album No Beginning No End (Half Note, 2010), which explored tragedy and loss, death and transition, and the path from one lifetime to the next. The album featured Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, and over seventy musicians.

In 1996, Werner wrote a book about the psychological aspects of music in Effortless Mastery – Liberating the Master Musician Within. He lectured to support the book.

Awards

Discography

As leader

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Proefrock, Stacia. "Kenny Werner | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Kenny Werner | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.