Kenny Werner
Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist and composer.[1]
Contents
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' 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.
Werner had written many original compositions featuring trios and other small group configurations, but in the mid 1980s, he became the pianist for the Mel Lewis Orchestra (currently known as the Village Vanguard Orchestra). Challenged by Mel 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 2009 CD, No Beginning, No End.
Several musical partnerships began in the 1990s. Werner continued to play duo with Toots Thielemans, the harmonica player for 17 years. They recorded a duo CD and Werner received a Grammy nomination for his composition, "Inspiration." He played with and arranged for Broadway star Betty Buckley for 20 years. Arranging for Miss Buckley he wrote for the BBC Radio Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony and other orchestras. They made six albums together and she has sung his arrangements for small band and orchestras in the USA and abroad. He and Joe Lovano have recorded and collaborated on each other's projects for over 40 years.
In 1996 Werner created his seminal work, a book about the spiritual, psychological, mental and physical aspects of creating music, Effortless Mastery – Liberating the Master Musician Within." That led to his being invited to do lectures and clinics worldwide. the book continues to inspire generations of artists around the world today. He continues to teach and give clinics in the United States and abroad.
In 2000, Werner formed a trio with Ari Hoenig on drums and Johannes Weidenmueller on bass. To date they've been playing together for over 15 years and released five albums, with Werner acting as composer, arranger, and pianist. Their third album, Peace – Live at the Blue Note, released in 2004 under Half Note Records, the recording arm of the Blue Note Jazz Club. He created three CDs for Half Note before the release of his work, No Beginning No End and one more after, "Coalition." In 2007, Werner released his first album for Blue Note Records. Lawn Chair Society, featuring Chris Potter, Dave Douglas, Scott Colley, and Brian Blade, received critical acclaim[by whom?] for its innovative fusion of electro and acoustic elements.
Werner was awarded the 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship Award for his work, No Beginning No End, which explored tragedy and loss, death and transition, and the path from one lifetime to the next. Utilizing over 70 musicians, Werner's third album for Half Note Records is an expansive composition featuring Joe Lovano, Judy Silvano, Wind Ensemble, Choir and String Quartet.
He was an Artist-in-Residence at New York University.
Artistic Director, Effortless Mastery Institute at Berklee College Of Music
Awards
- 1985 & 87: National Endowment For the Arts performance grants.
- 1993: National Endowment for the Arts Grant to present a concert in tribute to Mel Lewis.
- 1995: grant awarded by NEA to compose a piano concerto dedicated to Duke Ellington, performed in February 1996 by the Cologne Radio Orchestra.
- Distinguished Artist Award for Composition from the New Jersey Council of the Arts for a piece entitled "Kandinsky" from his CD, Paintings.
- 2010: Guggenheim Fellowship Award for the CD "No Beginning No End"
Discography
As leader
- The Piano Music of Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, James P. Johnson,' Solo, 1977
- Beyond the Forest of Mirkwood, Solo, 1981
- 289 Bridge St. with Joe Lovano, Billy Drewes, Bill DeArango, Ratzo Harris, Tom Rainey, 1982
- Introducing the Trio with Ratzo Harris, Tom Rainey, 1989
- Press Enter with Ratzo Harris and Tom Rainey, 2000
- Uncovered Heart with Eddie Gómez, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, John Bernard Riley, Edson Cafe Adasilva, 1990
- Paintings with Tom Rainey, Ratzo Harris, Tim Hagens, Billy Drewes, Mark Feldman, Eric Freedlander, Cafe Edson Da Silva
- Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 34, Solo, 1994
- 'Concord Duo series, Volume 10" with Chris Potter
- Copenhagen Calypso, Solo, 1994
- Gu-Ru with Tim Hagans, Billy Drewes, Jamey Haddad, Ratzo Harris, Tom Rainey, 1994
- Live at Visiones with Ratzo Harris, Tom Rainey, 1995
- Meditations, Solo, 1995
- A Delicate Balance with Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, 1998
- Unprotected Music(Double-Time Records with Marc Johnson, Joey Baron, 1998)
- Beauty Secrets with Billy Hart, Joe Lovano, Betty Buckley, Mark Feldman, Drew Gress, Heide Stubner, Mary Wooten, Dave Ballou, Tony Malaby, Todd Reynolds, Victor Schultz, Ari Hoenig, Johannes Wiedenmüller, 2000
- Form and Fantasy with Johannes Wiedenmüller and Ari Hoenig, 2000
- Beat Degeneration with Johannes Wiedenmüller and Ari Hoenig, 2001
- Peace with Johannes Weidenmüller and Ari Hoenig, 2004
- Dreamtales with Claudia Villela
- Democracy with David Sánchez, Matt Shulman, Brian Blade, Scott Colley, 2006
- Naked In The Cosmos with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra
- Lawn Chair Society with Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Dave Douglas, Chris Potter, Lenny Picket, 2007
- With a Song In My Heart with Johannes Weidenmueller (bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums), 2008
- New York Love Songs' solo piano, 2009
- Balloons with David Sánchez, Randy Brecker, Antonio Sanchez, John Patitucci, 2009
- No Beginning No End with Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, 2010
- Institute of Higher Learning with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, 2011
- Me Myself And I solo piano, 2012
- The Melody, 2015
- Poesia 2015
Bibliography
- Effortless Mastery: Book published in 1996 by Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Inc.
- Channeling Music: Organica, Spring 1988
- Play for the Right Reasons - Organica, Winter 1990
- Hostile Triads - The Piano Stylist & Jazz Workshop, April–May 1991
- Columnist for Jazz Improv Magazine
- Four Articles for Downbeat Magazine under the heading Zen And The Art Of Jazz 2015
References
External links
- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from April 2014
- 1951 births
- Living people
- Berklee College of Music alumni
- Berklee College of Music faculty
- Manhattan School of Music alumni
- Musicians from Brooklyn
- American jazz pianists
- SteepleChase Records artists
- Guggenheim Fellows
- People from Oceanside, New York
- Alessa Records artists
