Bruce Katz is in-demand. He has played and or recorded with many of the top names in blues and roots music including Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, Jerry Portnoy, David “Fathead” Newman, Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Mama Thornton, Mighty Sam McClain, Barrence Whitfield, Debbie Davies as well as leading his own outfit, The Bruce Katz Band.
Dividing his talents between piano and Hammond B-3 organ, Katz is one of those rare keyboard players who is equally at home on both. So much so that he’s joined a very select group of organists by becoming a Hammond endorsee.
After a particularly long stint of touring in the late ’80s with Barrence Whitfield, Bruce decided to break from touring and enroll at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. While earning his Masters in Jazz Performance he studied with Geri Allen, Paul Bley, Cecil McBee and George Russell.
In 1992, he was invited to join Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters. During his nearly five-year stint with Earl, he toured the world and performed on six albums, writing and co-writing many popular tunes such as “The Colour of Love”, “Ice Cream Man”, and “Hippology”. Their album Grateful Heart (Bullseye) won the 1996 Downbeat Critics Poll for Best Blues Album.
Bruce debuted his first solo album, Crescent Crawl (AudioQuest) in 1993 and the following year released Transformation. Just before the release of Mississippi Moan (1997), his third solo album, he left the Broadcasters to concentrate on a solo career.
The Bruce Katz Band released their fourth CD, Three Feet Off the Ground (2000) and followed that up with Severn’s A Deeper Blue, an album of original music that showcases both his and his band’s exciting and eclectic style.
The Bruce Katz Band maintains an extensive touring schedule throughout the U.S. and Europe, playing clubs and festivals. In addition to performing, Katz teaches piano, Hammond organ and theory at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he developed the school’s first ever, in-depth Blues History and Analysis course. He has presented History of Blues clinics and Hammond B-3 master classes at a number of festivals both in the U.S. and Europe.
DISCOGRAPHY
A Deeper Blue (Severn CD-0028 © 2004)
Three Feet Off The Ground (Audioquest)
Mississippi Moan (Audioquest)
Transformation (Audioquest)
Cresent Crawl (Audioquest)
