Kenny Werner

By his own admission, Kenny Werner, the renowned the jazz pianist and author of the musician's self-help book 'Effortless Mastery', is a reluctant learner. He grew up in Brooklyn in an area he described as a 'cultural waste ground' and began playing the piano from an early age. Werner was motivated mainly by a desire to be accepted by his peer group and only practiced when forced to by his parents or teacher. Naturally gifted, he appeared on TV playing piano from the age of eleven and, after completing his studies he enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music where he quickly decided classical music was not for him and switched to the more jazz oriented Berklee School of Music. After completing his studies he met the pianist Joao Assis Brasil and Werner learned practice techniques from him which inspired the book 'Effortless Mastery' which received endorsements from artists such as Herb Alpert and Quincy Jones. His playing career began with his own band, the Kenny Werner Trio which toured America and Europe for 14 years before Werner joined the The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra as a writer and performer. This engagement led to him writing music for larger ensembles such as the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra and the Metropole Orchestra of Holland. Werner continues to play and record as well as deliver presentations about the philosophy of 'Effortless Mastery' on the lecture circuit.

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