"One of the most respected keyboardists on the blues circuit" 

Wade Tatangelo, HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

"Out From The Center is an eclectic sampling of Katz's world of the blues - from jam tunes to traditional piano numbers to his boogie-woogie "soul-jazz."

LINCOLN JOURNAL-STAR

 

"Hearing and seeing the Bruce Katz Band live is a special experience. They take you to church in the sense of the gospel experience of rising tides of emotion and jubilation. The sounds of the organ as played by Katz are extremely visceral, rumbling up from the floorboards, through your feet, into your stomach, and you are literally feeling the music."      

ROOTS, ROCK & BLUES - LIVE

 

(Durham, NC) -Bruce Katz, legendary Hammond B-3 organist/keyboardist and four-time Blues Music Award nominee, and his Bruce Katz Band embark on their 2017 Sunshine Tour, with the first show taking place at Blue Note Grill, 709 Washington St., Thursday, February 16. Showtime: 8:00 pm-10:00 pm. Tickets $10. Info: (919) 401-1979 or http://www.thebluenotegrill.com/.

 

In addition to leading the Bruce Katz Band, Katz has played with the Delbert McClinton Band, Jaimoe's Jasssz Band, and John Hammond, the latter (Hammond) whom he still plays with on occasion. Katz was a member of the Gregg Allman Band from 2007-2013. Bruce is also currently touring with Les Brers, featuring former members of the famed Allman Bros. band, as well as Butch Trucks and the Freight Train Band, fronted by the ex-Allman Bros. drummer.

 

Out From The Center, the acclaimed recently-released CD from keyboardist and four-time Blues Music Award Nominee Bruce Katz, also features talented guitarist and vocalist, Chris Vitarello. Chris has been performing with the Bruce Katz Band for ten years, but really steps into the limelight on this album, singing and writing tunes along with Katz. Indeed, Out From The Center is a true band effort, with longtime drummer Ralph Rosen also contributing tunes to the CD, alongside bandleader Katz. Out From The Center is both eclectic and accessible, incorporating emotional blues-rooted music as well as traveling “the wide world of blues”, as Katz calls it. The trio touches down on “jam” tunes, traditional piano blues and Boogie-Woogie/Hammond B3-powered “soul-jazz” as well. Consisting of eleven original tunes, Out From The Center continues the band’s tradition of combining virtuosic playing, raw emotion and a truly original sound - one that is coming from the soul of the Blues tradition while simultaneously growing that tradition. This is exciting, vital music from a band in its creative prime.

 

Bruce Katz Band "King of Decatur" (Live)  

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Bruce Katz: Some Background

Bruce Katz's music occupies a unique space where blues, soul/jazz, jam-band rock, and all aspects of Americana music collide into a style of original music all his own. As a performer, Bruce has been an in-demand sideman as well as leading his own band - playing and recording with many of the leading names in blues and roots music, appearing on over 70 albums with artists such as Ronnie Earl, John Hammond, Delbert McClinton, Gregg Allman, Duke Robillard, Joe Louis Walker, Little Milton, Maria Muldaur, Jimmy Witherspoon, Paul Rishell, Mighty Sam McClain, Debbie Davies, David “Fathead” Newman and many others.

Katz has a lengthy background in classical piano. After hearing a Bessie Smith record at the age of ten, he started teaching himself blues and early jazz on the piano. Bruce then heard boogie-woogie and swing music and continued his musical journey into more aspects of jazz and American roots music. He attended Berklee College of Music in the mid-1970s, studying Composition and performance.

For the next fifteen years, Katz performed with many of the leading musicians in New England and played “on the road” for long stretches of time. After a particularly long stint of touring in the late '80s with Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, Katz decided to come off the road and enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he earned a Master's degree in Jazz Performance. It was during this time that he conceived of and started writing music that became the Bruce Katz Band.

In 1992, Bruce met Ronnie Earl, who soon invited him to join his band, The Broadcasters. During his nearly five-year stint with Earl, Katz toured the world and performed on six albums, writing and co- writing many of the band's tunes, such as "The Colour of Love," "Ice Cream Man," and "Hippology." The album “Grateful Heart” (Bullseye) won the Downbeat Critics Poll for Best Blues Album of 1996. The same year, Katz debuted his first solo album, "Crescent Crawl", on the AudioQuest label. He released "Transformation" the following year. Just before the release of "Mississippi Moan" in 1997, his third solo album, Katz left the Broadcasters to concentrate on a solo career. At that point, the Bruce Katz Band began touring the U.S. and Europe, and has been his ongoing focus, in addition to his many other projects. Bruce also played with Duke Robillard (2001-02), John Hammond (2005 – present), Gregg Allman (2007-13) and many other high-profile roots, blues and rock performers, while continuing to tour and record with his own band.

In addition to performing, Katz teaches piano, Hammond organ and theory privately at his studio in West Shokan, NY. He also conducts Master Classes in Hammond B3 and Blues History, which he has done at various schools and music festivals worldwide. Formerly from Boston, Bruce has been based in Woodstock, NY since 2005.

 

Bruce Katz Band "Out From The Center"  - 2017 "Sunshine Tour" Itinerary

 

February 16 (Thur.)         BLUE NOTE GRILL                           Durham, NC      

February 17 (Fri.)            TBA                                                 TBA                 

February 18 (Sat.)          BRADFORDVILLE BLUES CLUB        Tallahassee, FL

February 19 (Sun.)         PARADISE BAR & GRILL                  Gulf Breeze, FL

February 22 (Wed.         TERRA FERMATA                              Stuart, FL       

February 23 (Thur.)        ENGLEWOOD'S ON DEARBORN        Englewood, FL

February 24 (Fri.)            BUCKINGHAM BLUES BAR               Fort Myers, FL

February 25 (Sat.)           MUSIC RANCH                                  Lakeland, FL  

February 26 (Sun.)          EARL'S HIDEAWAY LOUNGE             Sebastian, FL 

Bruce Katz Promotional Materials/Interviews/Venue Passes Available.

brucekatzband.com

facebook.com/pages/Bruce-Katz-Band