The Will Kjeer Trio

Overview

Personnel:

Will Kjeer - piano

Charlie Lincoln - bass

Anthony Ty Johnson - drums

Bio:

NYC-based pianist and composer Will Kjeer stands out as one of the most versatile jazz artists of his generation. A recent graduate of the Juilliard School’s M.M. program, Will’s expansive and nuanced approach to creative music has earned him recognition from living legends of the jazz vanguard and contemporary pioneers alike. The great guitarist Russell Malone called Will “a pianist of exceptional heart”, and drum sorcerer Dave King was so impressed with Will’s intentionality that he offered to produce and perform on Will’s debut record, due for label release in 2025, and eventually even invited him to sub for Ben Monder in The Bad Plus - making him the only musician ever invited to sub with the band. Will has won numerous awards as a performer/composer, including being selected by American composing genius Billy Childs as a winner of Ravinia’s Bridges Composition Competition. He is also a winner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition, the Angel City Jazz Festival Young Artist Competition, and 2nd place in the Jazz Fest Bonn International JazzBeet Competition. He is an alumni of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead and of the Steans Music Institute, and has performed for Herbie Hancock as a finalist for admission to the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute. He is currently a member of the BMI Composer’s Workshop in New York, and has performed his original music across America at venues including the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall in Chicago, and Dizzy’s at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Will grew up performing in his hometown of Saint Paul, MN, and pursued jazz and classical music at Interlochen Arts Academy H.S. in Michigan before earning a B.F.A. at the California Institute of the Arts in 2019. He enjoyed a burgeoning career in Los Angeles before moving back to MN to weather the pandemic the following year. In 2022 he moved to New York, having been the only pianist admitted to the Juilliard Jazz program that year. His current initiatives include the Will Kjeer Trio, which has performed his “whimsical, lyrical, and heartfelt” compositions across the country for 8 years, the Will Kjeer Quintet, and a jazz/classical chamber ensemble featuring string quartet. He has also collaborated for the past three years with folk legend Larry Long, oft referred to as “The Pete Seeger of Minnesota”. Will is an active music educator and has been a clinician at Lincoln Center, California State University Fullerton, The Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, and Shell Lake Arts Center, in addition to his private studio.

“You know, people ask me questions like ‘What’s the future of Jazz music?’ Well, they should ask the Young Lords, musicians like Will Kjeer. This dude is on top of it.”

- Jerry Bergonzi

“Together they create magic”

- Andrea Canter (JazzPolice), on the Will Kjeer Trio