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Brian Kelly (composer & pianist)
Encyclopedia
Brian Kelly is an American
composer
, pianist
, and producer creating music in the jazz fusion
, smooth jazz
, New Age
genres.
Soundpage Award for his original composition "Todd Pond". In 2005 he released his debut album of piano instrumentals, Pools of Light
, on the Skylight Music label. The album charted #1 for two months on modern instrumental radio in North America. Brian was nominated for the NAR (New Age Reporter) Lifestyle Music Artist of the Year award. In 2006 he published Pools of Light: the Solo Piano Songbook (79 pages), a collection of solo piano arrangements of 12 songs from his Pools of Light
CD. In 2008 Brian released Afterplay
, his second CD of piano-based instrumental music. The album charted #3 for three consecutive months on the NAR Top 100 radio Chart., and was awarded second place in the "Best Instrumental Jazz Album of 2009" category in the Just Plain Folks Music Awards. The album includes the world-renowned talents of Eric Crystal on sax, David Rokeach
on drums, Viviana Guzman
on flute, and James Robinson on guitar. In 2010 Brian published "Tomorrow's Daydream: Solo Piano Songbook" (84 pages), a collection of sheetmusic transcriptions of 11 solo piano pieces from his forthcoming album. His music can be heard on Music Choice
cable, Sirius XM radio, and on a number of different national TV shows including Travel Channel
(The Relic Hunter), and on TV and radio commercials.
Brian is a graduate of Hampshire College
, and a voting member of the Recording Academy. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
. He began piano at age 8. His experience as a stage actor and performer in numerous plays
and musical theatre
productions (at Theatreworks (Silicon Valley)
and the Palo Alto Children's Theatre), as well as his four years of singing madrigal
s in an a cappella
group, continue to inform his creative work. He studied music composition with Lewis Spratlan
and jazz piano
with Art Lande
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and producer creating music in the jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
, smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
, New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
genres.
Career
Brian Kelly is winner of the Keyboard MagazineKeyboard Magazine
Keyboard Magazine is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, including those not strictly pertaining to the...
Soundpage Award for his original composition "Todd Pond". In 2005 he released his debut album of piano instrumentals, Pools of Light
Pools of Light (Brian Kelly album)
Pools of Light is the debut studio album by American composer and pianist Brian Kelly. Released in May 2005 , the album ranked #1 in the NAR Top 100 Radio Chart in June and July 2005...
, on the Skylight Music label. The album charted #1 for two months on modern instrumental radio in North America. Brian was nominated for the NAR (New Age Reporter) Lifestyle Music Artist of the Year award. In 2006 he published Pools of Light: the Solo Piano Songbook (79 pages), a collection of solo piano arrangements of 12 songs from his Pools of Light
Pools of Light (Brian Kelly album)
Pools of Light is the debut studio album by American composer and pianist Brian Kelly. Released in May 2005 , the album ranked #1 in the NAR Top 100 Radio Chart in June and July 2005...
CD. In 2008 Brian released Afterplay
Afterplay (Brian Kelly album)
Afterplay is the second studio album by American composer and pianist Brian Kelly, released on October 14, 2008. The album was awarded second place in the "Best Instrumental Jazz Album of 2009" category by the Just Plain Folks Music Awards and ranked #3 in the NAR Top 100 Radio Chart for three...
, his second CD of piano-based instrumental music. The album charted #3 for three consecutive months on the NAR Top 100 radio Chart., and was awarded second place in the "Best Instrumental Jazz Album of 2009" category in the Just Plain Folks Music Awards. The album includes the world-renowned talents of Eric Crystal on sax, David Rokeach
David Rokeach
-Biography:Drummer David Rokeach has been working primarily in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas for more than 20 years. David toured nationally and internationally with Ray Charles from 1990-91. This included concert videos and many television appearances, including an appearance on the...
on drums, Viviana Guzman
Viviana Guzmán
Viviana Guzmán is a virtuoso flutist, composer, dancer and poet, who performs over 80 concerts a year, and has played in 74 countries. She has been described by the New York Times as "an imaginative artist." It has also been said of her that "Guzmán may be the first flutist since her teacher...
on flute, and James Robinson on guitar. In 2010 Brian published "Tomorrow's Daydream: Solo Piano Songbook" (84 pages), a collection of sheetmusic transcriptions of 11 solo piano pieces from his forthcoming album. His music can be heard on Music Choice
Music Choice
Music Choice is a United States company that programs music and produces music-related content for digital cable, cell phones, and cable modem subscribers in the US. Music Choice programs dozens of audio music channels for digital cable subscribers, as well as programs and produces music-related...
cable, Sirius XM radio, and on a number of different national TV shows including Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
(The Relic Hunter), and on TV and radio commercials.
Brian is a graduate of Hampshire College
Hampshire College
Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...
, and a voting member of the Recording Academy. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Background
Born in New York City, Brian grew up in Palo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
. He began piano at age 8. His experience as a stage actor and performer in numerous plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
productions (at Theatreworks (Silicon Valley)
TheatreWorks (Silicon Valley)
TheatreWorks is a non-profit, professional theater company based in Menlo Park, California and founded in July, 1970. The company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres and employs some 300 artists annually, including Equity and non-Equity actors, directors, designers and specialty artists...
and the Palo Alto Children's Theatre), as well as his four years of singing madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s in an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group, continue to inform his creative work. He studied music composition with Lewis Spratlan
Lewis Spratlan
M. Lewis Spratlan Jr. is an American music academic and composer of contemporary classical music.Born in Miami, Florida, Spratlan played the oboe as a youth. He attended Yale University and was a student of Mel Powell and Gunther Schuller...
and jazz piano
Jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
with Art Lande
Art Lande
Art Lande is a jazz pianist, drummer, composer and educator.Born in New York City, he began piano at age 4, studied at Williams College, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969. He made the first record of his own compositions in 1973 for ECM Records, in a duo with saxophonist/flutist Jan...
.
Albums
- 2005 Pools of LightPools of Light (Brian Kelly album)Pools of Light is the debut studio album by American composer and pianist Brian Kelly. Released in May 2005 , the album ranked #1 in the NAR Top 100 Radio Chart in June and July 2005...
- 2008 AfterplayAfterplay (Brian Kelly album)Afterplay is the second studio album by American composer and pianist Brian Kelly, released on October 14, 2008. The album was awarded second place in the "Best Instrumental Jazz Album of 2009" category by the Just Plain Folks Music Awards and ranked #3 in the NAR Top 100 Radio Chart for three...
Compilations
- 2005 Expect A MiracleExpect A Miracle (Brian Kelly album)Expect A Miracle is a compilation album released by Orange Music, containing all of the songs from Brian Kelly's previously-released Pools of Light album, plus two previously unreleased bonus tracks, "April Sky" and "Tracing Rainbows"...
, Orange Music - 2005 Oasis New Age Sampler V.5, features the song "Open Sky" on disc 1, track #12
- 2008 Music In Motion: The Best of NewAgePiano.net, features the song "Angels Breathing" on track #19
Songbooks
- Pools of Light: Solo Piano Songbook (2006, 79 pgs., ISBN 978-0-9794220-0-3, Skylight Music)
- Tomorrow's Daydream Solo Piano SongbookTomorrow's Daydream Solo Piano SongbookTomorrow's Daydream Solo Piano Songbook is the companion sheet music book to the solo piano album, Tomorrow's Daydream, by composer & pianist Brian Kelly. Transcribed by the composer and edited by Kathy Parsons, the songbook consists of eleven solo piano pieces on 84 pages, printed on 80lb. paper,...
(2010, 84 pgs., ISBN 978-0-9794220-4-1, Skylight Music)
Awards
- Keyboard MagazineKeyboard MagazineKeyboard Magazine is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, including those not strictly pertaining to the...
5th Annual Reader's Soundpage Award- 1990, recording of winning composition, "Todd Pond", included on Flexi DiscFlexi discThe flexi disc is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable...
in February 1990 issue.
- 1990, recording of winning composition, "Todd Pond", included on Flexi Disc
- NAR Lifestyle Music Awards
- 2005 nominee, Best New Artist
- Just Plain Folks Music Awards
- 2009 second place, Best Instrumental Jazz Album: AfterplayAfterplay (Brian Kelly album)Afterplay is the second studio album by American composer and pianist Brian Kelly, released on October 14, 2008. The album was awarded second place in the "Best Instrumental Jazz Album of 2009" category by the Just Plain Folks Music Awards and ranked #3 in the NAR Top 100 Radio Chart for three...
- 2009 nominee, Best Instrumental Jazz Song: "Celtic Fire" from AfterplayAfterplay (Brian Kelly album)Afterplay is the second studio album by American composer and pianist Brian Kelly, released on October 14, 2008. The album was awarded second place in the "Best Instrumental Jazz Album of 2009" category by the Just Plain Folks Music Awards and ranked #3 in the NAR Top 100 Radio Chart for three...
- 2009 second place, Best Instrumental Jazz Album: Afterplay