Andy LaVerne

Jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Andy LaVerne studied at Juilliard, Berklee, and the New England Conservatory, and took private lessons from legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans. The list of musicians with whom LaVerne has worked reads like a who’s who in jazz: Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Lionel Hampton, Michael Brecker, Elvin Jones, Neil Sedaka, and numerous others.

A prolific recording artist, his projects as a leader number more than 50. Among them is a quartet recording featuring trumpeter Randy Brecker, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Al Foster, Four Miles (Polygram), which reached the top 10 on the Gavin Jazz Chart.

Andy is also a prominent jazz educator, having released a series of instructional videos, Guide to Modern Jazz Piano, Vols. 1 & 2, and Jazz Piano Standards (Homespun Tapes), featuring the Yamaha Disklavier, as well as the video In Concert (Homespun) with John Abercrombie. He is the author of Handbook of Chord Substitutions, Tons of Runs (Ekay), The Music of Andy LaVerne (SteepleChase Publications), and Bill Evans Compositions 19 Solo Piano Arrangements (Hal Leonard). Countdown to Giant Steps (Aebersold Jazz) is a two-CD play-along with companion book, for which LaVerne served as player/producer and writer. Tunes You Thought You Knew (Aebersold Jazz) is a LaVerne play-a-long CD/book set. Secret of the Andes, a recent Aebersold play-along, is a collection of Andy LaVerne compositions.

Andy is a frequent contributor (since 1986) to Keyboard Magazine and Piano Today Magazine. His articles have also appeared in Down Beat, Jazz Improv, Piano Quarterly, Jazz and Keyboard Workshop, and JazzOne.

Andy is the recipient of five Jazz Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and winner of the 2000 John Lennon Songwriting contest for his tune “Shania.” He has appeared at concerts, festivals, and clubs throughout the world, and has also given clinics and master classes at universities, colleges, and conservatories worldwide.