Bruce Katz (born August 19, 1952) is an American musician, playing piano, organ and bass guitar. From 1996 to 2010, he was on the faculty at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

as an associate professor. He founded his own musical group, the ''Bruce Katz Band'' in 1991 and has recorded and toured with that band to the present. He has also recorded and toured with many other well-known artists in the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

music world.

Biography

Katz, born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, NY, started playing classical piano at the age of 5. He began his professional musical career playing piano and bass guitar with various bands in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He then decided to concentrate on piano and

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, and in particular, jazz and blues music. After studying music at the

(1974–77) and playing primarily jazz in Boston, he got the opportunity to play bass guitar for

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B. The ''Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul'' described Thornton by saying: "Her booming voice, sometimes 200-pound fra ...

. This reconnected him with his love of the blues, which has been his main musical genre since that time. From that band, Katz moved on to play with Barrence Whitfield and the Savages., touring extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe from 1986–1990 and recording three albums with that band. From 1990–92 he enrolled at the New England Conservatory in Boston and received a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance. After obtaining his Master's Degree, Katz formed The Bruce Katz Band with Marty Ballou and Lorne Entress and began recording on the Sledgehammer Blues (formerly AudioQuest Music) label. His first album as a leader, ''Crescent Crawl'' was released in 1992. In 1992, he was also invited to join Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters. While with Ronnie Earl from 1992–97, Katz recorded 6 albums, including ''Grateful Heart'', which won the Downbeat Magazine "Blues Album of the Year" award in 1996. He left the Broadcasters in 1997 in order to concentrate on the Bruce Katz Band. From then until the present he has led his own band and simultaneously maintained a sought-after sideman status, recording and touring with many other artists, such as

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, h ...

, Duke Robillard,

Joe Louis Walker Louis Joseph Walker Jr. (December 25, 1949 – April 30, 2025), known as Joe Louis Walker, was an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his u ...

, Debbie Davies,

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

, John Hammond and others. From 2007 to 2013, Katz was a regular member of Gregg Allman and Friends. In 2011, he joined Delbert McClinton's Band and continued to play with him until 2014. He continues to play with John Hammond on occasion. Katz performed with Allman Brothers founding member

Butch Trucks Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks (May 11, 1947 – January 24, 2017) was an American drummer. He was best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Trucks was born ...

in two different groups --- 'Butch Trucks and the Freight Train Band' and ' Les Brers', a band that contained five members of the

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surnam ...

and Katz on keyboards, Lamar Williams Jr. on vocals and Pat Bergeson on guitar, in addition to Butch Trucks, Jaimoe, Marc Quiñones,

Oteil Burbridge Oteil Burbridge (born August 24, 1964) is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of t ...

on bass and Jack Pearson on guitar. Katz also performed with Jaimoe and 'Jaimoe's Jasssz Band', recording and writing on the ''Renaissance Man'' CD. In 2014, Katz began to shift his primary focus to his own music and the Bruce Katz Band. In October 2014, Katz released ''Homecoming'' on the American Showplace Music record label. This album featured guests John P. Hammond, Randy Ciarlante, Jimmy Bennett, Marty Ballou, Peter Bennett, and was the first Bruce Katz Band album to feature vocals as well as instrumentals. ''Homecoming'' received critical and popular acclaim, garnering radio play in the US and worldwide, appearing at the top of Blues Radio charts. In 2016, he released another album on American Showplace Music, ''Out From The Center'', which reached No. 1 on the Roots Music Report Blues Radio Chart. In 2018, he released ''Get Your Groove!'' on American Showplace Music. This album featured Ray Hangen on drums and continued to combine original instrumental and vocal music. It also featured Jaimoe from the Allman Brothers Band on drums on three tracks, most notably a tribute to Butch Trucks called "Freight Train". Katz won a Blues Music "Acoustic Album of the Year" for the trio record he collaborated on with Joe Louis Walker and Giles Robson, "Journeys to the Heart of the Blues". He released his first solo piano album titled ''Solo Ride'' on American Showplace Music in 2019. This all-instrumental album featured eleven original compositions and was a purely acoustic album featuring Katz playing at a grand piano. It was nominated by the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs t ...

for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

''Acoustic Album of the Year'' award in 2020.

Awards and honors

* Blues Piano Player of the Year

Nominated 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2025 * Acoustic Blues Album of the Year

Winner 2019 for "Journeys To The Heart of the Blues" * Acoustic Blues Album of the Year

Nominee 2020 for "Solo Ride" * Outstanding Keyboard Instrumentalist Living Blues Nominated 2017, 2019, 2024 * Album of the Year

Nominee 2019 for "Journeys To The Heart of the Blues" * Contemporary Blues Album of the Year nomination, Blues Blast Magazine Award for "Connections", 2023 * Inducted into the New York

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

2013 * Blues Album of the Year

Downbeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

''Grateful Heart'' as member of ''Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters'' 1996

Discography - As a bandleader

Selected recordings with other artists

* Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, ''Ow Ow Ow!'' 1986 * Mighty Sam McClain, ''Give it Up to Love'' 1993 * Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, ''Still River'' 1993 * Albert Washington, ''Step it Up and Go'' 1993 * Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, ''Language of the Soul'' 1994 * Jimmy Witherspoon, "Spoon's Blues" 1994 * Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, ''Blues Guitar Virtuoso – Live in Europe'' 1995 * Mighty Sam McClain, ''Keep on Movin' '' 1996 * Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, ''Grateful Heart'' 1996 * Kenny Neal/Tab Benoit/Debbie Davies, ''Lonesome for the Road'' 1996 * Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, ''The Colour of Love'' 1997 * Joe Beard, ''Dealin' '' 1998 * Mighty Sam McClain, ''Journey'' 1998 * Joe Beard, ''For Real'' 2000 * Mighty Sam McClain, ''Sweet Dreams'' 2001 * Bryan Lee, ''Six String Therapy'' 2002 * Duke Robillard, ''Living with the Blues'' 2002 * Debbie Davies, ''Key to Love'' 2003 * Bryan Lee, ''Live and Dangerous'' 2004 * Little Milton, ''What About Me?'' 2005 * Debbie Davies,''All I Found'' 2005 * John Hammond, ''Push Comes to Shove'' 2006 * Eric Mingus, ''Healing Howl'' 2007 * Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, ''A Night in Woodstock'' 2008 * Joe Louis Walker, ''Witness to the Blues'' 2008 * Alexis P. Suter, ''Just Another Fool'' 2008 * Duke Robillard, ''A Swinging Session'' 2008 * Jaimoe's Jasssz Band, ''

Renaissance Man A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

'' 2012 * Delbert McClinton, ''Blind, Crippled and Crazy'' 2013 * Giles Robson, ''Don't Give Up on the Blues'' 2019 * Hurricane Ruth, ''Good Life'' 2020 * Sean Chambers, ''That's What I'm Talkin' About'' 2020 * Tas Cru, ''Riffin' the Blues'' 2022 * Arlen Roth, Jerry Jemmott, ''Super Soul Session'' 2023

Bruce Katz Band members

* Bruce Katz - 1991–present, piano and organ * Lorne Entress - 1991–1995, drums * Marty Ballou - 1991–1993, bass * Kevin Barry - 1992–1995, guitar * David Clark - 1993–1994, bass * John Payne - 1993–1994, saxophone * Paul Bryan - 1994, bass * Tom Hall - 1994–1998, saxophone * Ralph Rosen - 1995–2016, drums * Julien Kasper - 1996–2003, guitar * Mark Poniatowski - 1995–1999, bass * Blake Newman - 1999–2002, bass * Ed Spargo - 2002–2003, bass * Rod Carey - 2003–2009, bass * Michael Williams - 2003–2006, guitar * Christopher Vitarello - 2006–2011, 2013–2018, guitar and vocals * Jimmy Bennett - 2011–2013, guitar and vocals * Ray Hangen - 2016–2020, drums * Aaron Lieberman (Aaron Maxwell) - 2019–present, guitar and vocals * Liviu Pop - 2020–present, drums

References

External links

Bruce Katz Band
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Bruce 1952 births Living people American jazz pianists American blues pianists American male jazz pianists American jazz organists American male organists Berklee College of Music faculty Berklee College of Music alumni 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American organists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American keyboardists