Brian Kelly (composer & pianist)

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Brian Kelly (b. March 16, 1960) is an American composer, pianist, and producer creating music in the jazz fusion, contemporary jazz, New Age genres.

Career

Brian Kelly is winner of the Keyboard Magazine 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, a collection of solo piano arrangements of 11 tracks 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. 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. His music receives national and international airplay from radio stations and satellite music networks around the world. Brian is a graduate of Hampshire College, 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, California. 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 madrigals in an a cappella group, continue to inform his creative work. He studied music composition at Hampshire College and studied jazz piano with Art Lande.

Discography

  • 2005 Pools of Light
  • 2008 Afterplay

Publications

  • Pools of Light: The Solo Piano Songbook (2006, ISBN 978-0-9794220-0-3, Skylight Music)