Fred Katz & Jerome Kessler
FRED KATZ, America’s first Jazz cellist, has long been known as one of the great innovators in Western music, as performer, arranger and composer. In the 50’s, he was cellist with the famous CHICO HAMILTON QUINTET. He is an award-winning composer of jazz scores for motion pictures and television films. His concert music includes a cello concerto and numerous compositions for piano, cello, jazz ensembles and voice.
In recent years, FRED KATZ has written chamber works on commission for such artists as JEROME KESSLER, DANA FREEMAN, ARNI EGILSSON, JOANNE GRAUER and the LOS ANGELES CELLO QUARTET.
JEROME KESSLER was born in Ithaca, New York. A prolific composer of music for solo and multiple celli, he has written for cello ensembles ranging from duos to orchestras of over 50 players. He has received commissions by such organizations as the Arizona Cello Society and has composed many works for his own ensembles. His music has been performed in concerts throughout the United States and in Europe, including programs of the University of Texas in Austin, the Los Angeles Violoncello Society and the American Cello Congress.
Mr. Kessler is Music Director and Conductor of the Topanga Symphony, the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles-based cello octet, I Cellisti.
As a Cellist, he is active in solo, ensemble and orchestras performances in Southern California, where he is a member of the orchestras of the motion picture, television and recording studios. He has performed under Pierre Boulez, toured and recorded with Frank Zappa, and is Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Cello Quartet. He appears in concerts and festivals across the United States, as cellist, conductor, instructor and clinician. He has recorded, as Cellist and Conductor, for Cambria, Everest and Orion Master Recordings