Kenneth Ascher

Updated on Sep 24, 2024

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Birth name Kenneth Lee Ascher Education Columbia University Role Jazz Pianist		Name Kenneth Ascher Instruments piano Albums Serial


Born October 26, 1944 (age 80) Washington, D.C., USA ( 1944-10-26 ) Occupation(s) Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, studio musician Awards Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score Genres Big band, Jazz, Rock music, Film score Similar People Paul Williams, Barbra Streisand, Jack Burns, Jerry Juhl, James Frawley

Michael zahler rainbow connection paul williams kenneth ascher

Kenneth Lee "Kenny" Ascher (born October 26, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres — in live venues, recording studios, and cinema production. He is widely known for co-writing, with Paul Williams, "Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie. Both Williams and Ascher received Oscar nominations for the 1979 Academy Awards for Best Original Song ("Rainbow Connection") and Best Original Score (The Muppet Movie Soundtrack). The song was also nominated for the Golden Globes for "Best Original Song" that same year.

Rainbow connection paul williams kenneth ascher

His work

Ascher's work through the years has included keyboard parts and string arrangements on John Lennon's albums Mind Games, Walls and Bridges and Rock 'n' Roll and Yoko Ono's A Story, music for several songs from Barbra Streisand's remake of A Star Is Born (where he also served as music coordinator), and arrangements for portions of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf's masterpiece Bat Out of Hell (produced by Todd Rundgren). Ascher's own rendition of The Rainbow Connection was featured in the closing credits of The Break-Up (starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston). Ascher is the pianist with the Birdland Big Band, which performs Fridays from 5:15 to 7 at Birdland in New York City. The Birdland Big Band performs The Rainbow Connection, arranged by Lew Anderson.

In the latter 1960s, Ascher played piano and arranged for the Woody Herman Orchestra. Herman hired Ascher — on the advice of Frank Foster — to replace Nat Pierce, who had departed. Ascher has been a member of ASCAP since 1968.

Selected discography

As leader

As arranger

As sideman or band member, on keyboards

Awards & award nominations

Awards

1976 — Golden Globe for Best Original Score, A Star is Born, 34th Golden Globe Awards, Kenny Ascher & Paul Williams

Nominations

1978 — Anthony Asquith Award nomination for Film Music, A Star is Born, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Kenny Ascher

1979 — Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song, Rainbow Connection, 37th Golden Globe Awards, Kenny Ascher & Paul Williams

1979 — Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score, The Muppet Movie, 52nd Academy Awards, Kenny Ascher & Paul Williams

1979 — Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, The Muppet Movie, 52nd Academy Awards, Kenny Ascher & Paul Williams

Critically acclaimed live performances

Feb 1973 — Ascher played piano with Marvin Stamm at Sam's Jazz Upstairs (1220 2nd Avenue at 64th St., New York City): Bob Dougherty (bass) and Ronnie Zito on drums. Stamm said, "In 21 years of playing music, this is the best group of musicians I've ever been with." Reflecting on that statement, John Stuart Wilson (1913–2002), longtime jazz critic for The New York Times, said, "That might have sounded like a fatuous statement leaders often make in introducing their musicians to a jazz club audience. In this case, however, it was completely believable because Mr. Stamm's quartet is the most exciting group that has turned-up in New York for a long time."

May 1973 — Kenny Ascher Trio, Sundays, Jimmy Weston's, 131 E 54th St., New York City

Jan 13, 2009 — Mike Berkowitz and The New Gene Krupa Orchestra, Iridium

Dec 2000 — Michael Feinstein with a small swing band led by Kenny Ascher, the Regency, New York City

July 2001 — Jay Leonhart with Kenny Ascher and Michael Leonhart, July 13–21, Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel

Jingle writing

Ascher has composed (or co-composed) jingles for:

Many of Ascher's jingle compositions were (i) produced by Sunday Productions (Hilary Jay Lipsitz, born 1933, president), (ii) published by Ahoskie Music, Inc. (Hilary Jay Lipsitz, president), and (iii) licensed by ASCAP.

Academic education

Ascher holds three diplomas from Columbia University:

1966 — Bachelor of Arts (music composition), Columbia College, Columbia University

1968 — Master of Arts (music composition), Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Columbia University

1971 — Doctor of Musical Arts (music composition), School of the Arts, Columbia University

While at Columbia, Ascher studied composition with Otto Luening, Jack Beeson, and Vladimir Ussachevsky and piano with William Albert Beller (1900–1986). Ascher graduated from William F. Dykes High School in Atlanta, as valedictorian, and entered Columbia College, Columbia University on a math scholarship. In 1966, while in college, the Kenny Ascher Quintet performed live in WKCR's Stone Soup at midnight.

References

Kenneth Ascher Wikipedia

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