Spring Is Near: The Music Of Laura Klein at Musically Minded Academy

The In The Moment Radio Series presents a concert of original compositions by Bay Area pianist/ composer Laura Klein. Klein’s music covers a wide stylistic range, all informed with a lyrical and emotional sensibility. As a composer, Klein is steeped in the jazz tradition, with influences ranging from Thelonius Monk and Wayne Shorter to Fred Hersch and Joanne Brackeen. She’ll be joined by Bay Area luminaries bassist Jeff Neighbor and drummer Jason Lewis.

Laura Klein was born in New York City and started attend­ing the Man­hat­tan School of Music’s prepara­tory school at age seven. She majored in music at SUNY Buf­falo, study­ing with mas­ter pianists Rus­lana Antonow­icz, Leo Smit, and Yvar Mikashoff. After receiv­ing her degree, she attended Berklee School of Music, where she studied jazz performance, composition, and arranging with Mick Goodrick, John LaPorta, Phil Wilson, and others. She was hired by the great drummer Joe Hunt to be in his trio, and while living in Boston, played with Bob Mover, Ron Horton, Jamie Baum, George Schuller, Ken Filliano, Ira Coleman, and many of the other musicians on the Boston scene at the time. ...

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The In The Moment Radio Series presents a concert of original compositions by Bay Area pianist/ composer Laura Klein. Klein’s music covers a wide stylistic range, all informed with a lyrical and emotional sensibility. As a composer, Klein is steeped in the jazz tradition, with influences ranging from Thelonius Monk and Wayne Shorter to Fred Hersch and Joanne Brackeen. She’ll be joined by Bay Area luminaries bassist Jeff Neighbor and drummer Jason Lewis.

Laura Klein was born in New York City and started attend­ing the Man­hat­tan School of Music’s prepara­tory school at age seven. She majored in music at SUNY Buf­falo, study­ing with mas­ter pianists Rus­lana Antonow­icz, Leo Smit, and Yvar Mikashoff. After receiv­ing her degree, she attended Berklee School of Music, where she studied jazz performance, composition, and arranging with Mick Goodrick, John LaPorta, Phil Wilson, and others. She was hired by the great drummer Joe Hunt to be in his trio, and while living in Boston, played with Bob Mover, Ron Horton, Jamie Baum, George Schuller, Ken Filliano, Ira Coleman, and many of the other musicians on the Boston scene at the time.

While at Berklee, she met her future husband and musical partner guitarist/composer/arranger Tony Corman, and two other musiciams she would perform and record with over the next three decades: reed player Dave Tidball and drummer Alan Hall. She also began a long musical collaboration with vibraphonist Ted Wollf, whose mentor, the great Gary Burton, brought him onto the Berklee faculty.

Upon relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984, Laura performed with John Dankworth and the San Francisco Symphony, with the Rudy Salvini Big Band (with luminaries Allen Smith and Johnny Coles), and in the Benny Barth Trio. She and her husband formed the group Triceratops, which appeared at Yoshi’s, Kimball’s, Jazz On The Hill, SF Performances, and numerous festivals. Band members include Jim Zimmerman, Dean Reilly, Jeff Cressman, Dave Eshelman, Jules Rowell, and other top Bay Area musicians.

Since then, Laura has led a busy free-lance performing life, appearing with many vocalists including Jenny Ferris, Ed Reed, Kay Kostopoulos; horn players Noel Jewkes, Bryan Girard, Bob Kenmotsu, and Dave Rocha; harpist Destiny Muhammad, and big bands including the Morechestra, the CSM Band, and the Montclair Women’s Big Band. She Played at SF Jazz’s Miner Auditorium in Steve McQuarry’s Tribute To Carla Bley. She and Tony Corman are co-leaders of the FivePlay Jazz Quintet, for which they compose original music. FivePlay has three CDS, all of which have received national and international airplay. FivePlay has performed widely in the Bay Area, including Yoshi’s, the Jazzschool, Vallejo Jazz, Red Poppy Art House, and the Sound Room, done two live concerts on KPFA, and have been featured twice on KCSM’s “In The Moment.”

Laura’s recordings include FivePlay Jazz Quintet, Five Of Hearts, Five and More, Cerulean Blue (with Ted Wolff), Triceratops, and Jenny Ferris’ Day In, Day Out. Laura is an Associate Professor of the Alexander Technique, at the California Jazz Conservatory.

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