Kenny Werner
| Kenny Werner | |
|---|---|
Photo by Nick Myers & Aaron Rockers
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| Background information | |
| Born |
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 |
Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist and composer.
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.
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).
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