Kris Bowers
Kris Bowers (born April 5, 1989 in Los Angeles , California ) is an American jazz pianist , keyboardist and composer .
Life
Both of his parents were watching television and introduced him to the piano at an early age. He studied at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (with lessons from Mulgrew Miller , Donald Vega, among others ) and at the Colburn School of Performing Arts with a degree in 2006. He then studied at the Juilliard School in New York with a bachelor's degree and Masters degrees in Jazz . He was also heavily influenced by film music from an early age .
In 2011 he won the Thelonious Monk Piano Competition (while still studying at Juilliard). This resulted in a record deal with Concord Jazz with his debut album Heroes + Misfits 2014. In the same year he performed in Japan at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival and the London Jazz Festival . In 2016 he was invited to a concert by Barack Obama with other jazz musicians in the White House. In 2017 he was the keyboardist of the "Rising Star" in the Down Beat critical poll .
He also composes film music, for example for Green Book and Dear White People (Netflix television series). He works with gastronomic projects, dance projects and digital artists. For Blue Skies (Don Shirley Trio) he received a Grammy nomination in the category of best instrumental or a cappella arrangement at the end of 2019 .
He named Oscar Peterson , Wynton Kelly ("for his comping and incredible feel"), Duke Ellington (as a composer), Ahmad Jamal and Count Basie as role models .
Filmography (selection)
- 2016: Little Boxes
- 2018: Monsters and Men
- 2018: Green Book - A Special Friendship (Green Book)
- 2018: Broken Wing (short film)
- 2018: Warriors of Liberty City (TV series)
- 2018–19: For the People (TV series)
- 2019: When They See Us (TV series)
- 2017–19: Dear White People (TV series)
- 2019-20: Black Monday (TV series)
- 2020: Bad Hair
Awards (selection)
- 2019 : Nomination in the category Original Dramatic Score ( When They See Us )
- 2020 : Nomination in the category Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella (for " Blue Skies ")
World Soundtrack Awards
- 2019: Nomination in the Discovery of the Year category ( Green Book - A special friendship )
- 2019: Nomination in the category Television Composer of the Year
Web links
- Official website
- Kris Bowers in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Kris Bowers at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards (2019) - Nominations: Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: Blue Skies. Grammy Awards, December 1, 2019, accessed December 21, 2019 .
- ↑ Ken Micallef, Kris Bowers - Cinematic Listening , Down Beat, April 2014, p. 24.
- ^ Discovery of the Year. In: worldsoundtrackawards.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ Television Composer of the Year. In: worldsoundtrackawards.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bowers, Kris |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist, keyboardist and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 5, 1989 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Los Angeles , California |