Brian Kelly (composer)

Career

Brian’s latest release, Butterfly Rapture (his first solo piano album), is a collection of twelve neoclassical pieces with jazz, gospel, and Celtic influences. The album has been nominated 2015 “Contemporary and Modern” Album of the Year by SoloPiano.com.

Brian’s previous album, Afterplay, was awarded second place in the “Best Instrumental Jazz Album” category of the Just Plain Folks Music Awards and “#2 Contemporary Jazz Album” by Independent Music Awards. Afterplay ranked third on the Zone Music Reporter Top 100 Radio Chart for three months in a row (November 2008 thru January 2009) and was chosen as a “Best of 2008” pick by Audiosyncracy. The album features Eric Crystal on sax, Viviana Guzman on flute, and David Rokeach on drums.

Brian’s debut album, Pools of Light, charted #1 on the New Age Reporter international radio charts for two months in a row (June and July 2005) and garnered him a “Best New Artist” nomination in the 2005 Lifestyle Music Awards. Pools of Light was named among the Top 40 Favorite CDs of the Decade (2000-2009) by Kathy Parsons of MainlyPiano.com.

Brian was Keyboard magazine’s Annual Reader Tape Contest winner for the recording of his composition “Todd Pond,” which is included on the Flexi-disc Soundpage in the February 1990 issue. His music has been featured in television (Travel Channel, BBC Worldwide, MTV), film (NBA Entertainment), in-flight programming (United, JetBlue, Continental, Southwest), and receives airplay from radio stations and satellite music networks around the world (Music Choice, Sirius XM radio, Pandora Radio). His sheet music songbooks, published by Skylight Music, include: Pools of Light Solo Piano Songbook and Tomorrow's Daydream Solo Piano Songbook.

Background

Born in New York City, Brian grew up in Palo Alto, California. He began his piano studies at age 8, creating pieces for his mother who played classical piano at home and violin for a community opera company. Brian has extensive experience as a stage actor and singer, having performed in numerous plays and musical theatre productions, including several leading roles at TheatreWorks (Silicon Valley) and the Palo Alto Children’s Theatre. He studied music composition with Lewis Spratlan at Amherst College and Roland Wiggins at Hampshire College; improvisation with members of the world-fusion group Oregon (Ralph Towner and Paul McCandless) and pianist Art Lande at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado; and jazz piano with Andy LaVerne in New York City.

Brian is a graduate of Hampshire College, a voting member of the Recording Academy, and currently resides with his wife and their two tuxedo cats in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Albums

Compilations

Sheet Music

Awards