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Kiefer | |
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| Birth name | Kiefer Shackelford |
| Born | January 30, 1992 San Diego, California, United States |
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| Years active | 2017—present |
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Kiefer Shackelford (born (January 30, 1992), known mononymously as Kiefer, is an American pianist and producer based in Los Angeles, California. [1]
Born in 1992 in San Diego, Kiefer started playing piano around age six, and was first introduced to jazz by his father. Growing up, he took classical and jazz lessons, and by his teens was an adept soloist and began experimenting with producing his own computer-based hip-hop and electronic beats. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in UCLA’s Jazz Studies program, where he was mentored by renowned jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, flautist James Newton and pianist Tamir Hendelman. It was at the institution where he experimented jazz composition and live improvisation with programmed electronic beats. [2]
In 2017, Kiefer worked with musicians Abraham Laboriel, Gilbert Castellanos and Rob Thorsen. He also collaborated on several hip-hop projects with Stones Throw affiliates Mndsgn and Jonwayne. That same year, he released his debut album Kickinit Alone, on Leaving Records, where the title track was described as a 'short piano phrase looping like it was ripped from a dusty vinyl and brought to life' by Pitchfork. [3]
Kiefer signed with Stones Throw the following year and debuted with Happysad. He released two EPs – Bridges and Superbloom – in 2019. Kiefer used various analog synths, and adopted an even more compositional approach to his songwriting for this series.
In March 2021, Kiefer released two singles – Superhero and Friends – before dropping the last instalment in the trilogy of EPs, Between Days, on Stones Throw. The EP features producers The Kount, 10.4 ROG, LAKEY INSPIRED and jazz trumpeter Theo Croker.
His own music projects aside, Kiefer worked on Anderson .Paak's album Ventura which debuted at number four on the US Billboard Charts 200 and won Best R&B Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Kiefer co-produced the track Yada Yada and the album's lead single, "King James", which pays homage to LeBron James. He is also a fixture in Mndsgn's live setup, and has made beats with Kaytranada, and played with Terrace Martin, Moses Sumney, among others.
On November 10, 2021, Kiefer released a piano course — Kiefer: Keys, Chords, and Beats — with online music school Soundfly. [4]
On February 18, 2022, Samsung released the 2022 version of their Galaxy S series' ringtone, 'Samsung Galaxy § Over the Horizon', which was produced by Kiefer entirely. [5]
Guillermo Scott Herren is an American producer who has been based in Atlanta, Barcelona, and New York City. Herren releases music under the aliases Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord, and is also part of the groups Savath y Savalas, Sons of the Morning, Fudge, Risil, and Diamond Watch Wrists.
Otis Lee Jackson, Jr., known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, sample-heavy production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern hip-hop. His frequent collaborators include MF DOOM, J Dilla, Freddie Gibbs, Talib Kweli, and Erykah Badu.
Stones Throw Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. Under the direction of founder Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw has released music ranging from hip hop to experimental psychedelic rock. LA Weekly deemed the label an "eternally evolving experiment" in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Koushik Ghosh is a Bengali-Canadian electronic musician from Dundas, Ontario. Koushik is signed to Stones Throw Records and has released a collection of singles and EPs from 2001–2005 on that label, Be With (2005), and the debut full length, Out my Window (2008). He has worked with Four Tet, Caribou, and remixed Madvillain.
Karriem Riggins is an American jazz drummer, record producer, DJ and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He met Chicago rapper Common and fellow Detroit musician J Dilla both in 1996, and served as an extensive contributor for releases by both artists. He produced for Common's 1997 album One Day It'll All Make Sense, did so on much of his further projects, and formed the musical trio August Greene with the rapper alongside fellow jazz instrumentalist Robert Glasper in 2018. Furthermore, he formed the Jahari Massamba Unit with Madlib in 2020, and has also worked with prominent music industry artists including Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Denzel Curry, Earl Sweatshirt, and Norah Jones, among others.
Vijay Iyer is a composer, pianist, bandleader, producer, writer, and professor based in New York City. The New York Times has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway". Iyer received a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artists Fellowship, a Grammy nomination, and the Alpert Award in the Arts. He was voted Jazz Artist of the Year in the DownBeat magazine international critics' polls in 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2018. In 2014, he was jointly appointed with tenure to Harvard University's departments of music and African American studies as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts.
Steven D. Bingley-Ellison, known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder.
Shai Maestro is an Israeli jazz pianist.
Facing You is a solo album by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded on November 10, 1971, and released on ECM March the following year as Jarrett's first with the label. The album is praised as "a hallmark recording of solo piano" that "altered the course of jazz".
Theodore Lee Croker is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and vocalist. He is a Grammy Award nominee, three-time Echo Award nominee, as well as a Theodore Presser Award recipient.
David Lyttle is a jazz drummer, hip hop producer, composer and record label owner from Waringstown, Northern Ireland. He has released five solo albums and eight EPs, and received nominations in the MOBO Awards and Urban Music Awards.
Rap Album One is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Jonwayne. It was released on October 29, 2013 on Stones Throw Records. Music videos were created for "The Come Up" and "How to Be a Gemini."
Dirty Loops is a band from Stockholm, Sweden, made up of Jonah Nilsson, Henrik Linder and Aron Mellergård. Their arrangements borrow from jazz and jazz fusion, gospel, funk, electronica, pop, and disco. They are known for their jazz fusion reharmonized covers of pop songs like "Baby" by Justin Bieber, "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele, ''Just Dance'' by Lady Gaga, and "Wake Me Up" by Avicii. They also performed the 2016 rendition of the song "Over the Horizon" for the new Samsung Galaxy S7/S7Edge by Samsung Electronics.
Nitai Hershkovits is a jazz pianist and composer.
Equilibrium is an album by American jazz pianist Matthew Shipp recorded in 2002 and released on Thirsty Ear. According to Shipp, this fourth Blue Series record is a synthesis of what he learned from all their other albums in the series. He continues exploring beat elements with modern jazz.
Ringgo Ancheta, better known by his stage name Mndsgn, is an American record producer and singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California.
Jacob Collier is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmonisations and close harmony. He is known for his energetic live performances, in which he often conducts the audience to sing harmony or play percussion parts. Collier demonstrates his harmonic expertise in lectures and master classes, particularly with his detailed analyses of songs like Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" and his own music.
Dominique Purdy, better known by his stage name The Koreatown Oddity, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, writer, and former stand-up comedian from Koreatown, Los Angeles, California.
John Carroll Kirby is an American pianist, record producer and composer based in Los Angeles, California, United States. As a musician, Kirby has collaborated with artists including Remi Wolf, Solange, Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus, Norah Jones, Bat for Lashes, Connan Mockasin, Sébastien Tellier, Harry Styles, Tyler, the Creator and others.
Soundfly is an online music education platform based in Brooklyn, New York. They offer online music courses and mentorship sessions as well as hosting a bi-weekly podcast, Themes and Variation, and a daily blog, Flypaper.
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