Kenneth Ascher Explained

Kenny Ascher
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Name:Kenneth Lee Ascher
Birth Date:26 October 1944
Birth Place:Washington, D.C.
Genre:Big band, jazz, rock, film
Occupation:Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, studio musician
Instrument:piano

Kenneth Lee Ascher (born October 26, 1944, in Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres - in live venues, recording studios, and cinema production.[1] With Paul Williams, he wrote the song "Rainbow Connection" for The Muppet Movie. Both Williams and Ascher received Oscar nominations for the 1979 Academy Awards for Best Original Song ("Rainbow Connection") and Best Original Score (The Muppet Movie Soundtrack). The song was also nominated for the Golden Globes for "Best Original Song" that same year.

His work

In 1966, Ascher joined the Woody Herman Orchestra as arranger and pianist.[2] Herman hired Ascher - on the advice of Frank Foster - to replace the departing Nat Pierce.[3] [4] Ascher has been a member of ASCAP since 1968.

Ascher's work through the years has included keyboard parts and string arrangements on John Lennon's albums Mind Games, Walls and Bridges and Rock 'n' Roll and Yoko Ono's A Story, music for several songs from Barbra Streisand's remake of A Star Is Born (where he also served as music coordinator), and arrangements for portions of Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell (produced by Todd Rundgren). Ascher's own rendition of "Rainbow Connection" was featured in the closing credits of The Break-Up (starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston). Ascher is the pianist with the Birdland Big Band, which performs Fridays from 5:15 to 7 at Birdland in New York City. The Birdland Big Band performs "Rainbow Connection", arranged by Lew Anderson.

Selected compositions

Selected discography

As leader

As arranger

Woody's Boogaloo, arranged by Ascher

B3  - You Know Me, by Ascher and Williams

As sideman or band member, on keyboards

A4  - The Sands of Time and Changes (Ascher, piano)

B2  - A Song for You (Ascher, piano)

B2  - Sweet Misery (Ascher plays clavinet and organ)

A1  - A Little Bit of Love, by Ascher

A4  - Sunday, by Ascher

B2  - She Sings for Free, by Ascher

B5  - Loneliness, by Ascher

B6  - Sad Song, by Ascher

B4  - I Don't Have to Do What I Don't Want to Do (Ascher plays melletron on this track)

B1  - You and Me Against the World, arr Don Hannah, written by Ascher and Williams

A1  - Watch Closely Now, by Ascher

A5  - Hellacious Acres, by Ascher

B1  - The Woman in the Moon, by Ascher and Williams

A4  - Loneliness, by Ascher and Williams

B2  - With One More Look at You, by Ascher and Williams

(Ascher produced tracks: A2, A4, B4, B5)

A3  - Heaven Can Wait (string arrangement by Ascher)

B1  - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad (string arrangement by Ascher)

A2  - Smoothin' On Down (Ascher plays clavinet on this track)

B  - It Happened (Ascher, keyboards on the flipside only)

2-15  - Back by the River (Ascher plays keyboard)

1  - Morning Much Better, Ascher  - piano

6  - Running Out of Fools – If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody, Ascher  - piano

10  - Time, Ascher  - piano

11  - When the Sun Comes Shining Through (The Ladder), Ascher  - piano

5  - Unscheduled Departures

8  - M.A.P.S. (Bob Mann, Kenny Ascher, Don Payne, Allen Schwartzberg)

10  - When She Loved Me (Ascher, keyboards)

14  - Baby Mine, (Ascher, keyboards & string arrangements)

4  - One Less Bell to Answer (piano, Ascher; arr Bacharach; strings arr, Ascher)

11  - Close to You (Ascher, piano)

12  - A House is Not a Home (Ascher, piano)

)

Awards & award nominations

Awards

Nominations

Past Grammy Nominations
NomineeGenreCategoryTitlePerforming
Artist
17th Annual (for recordings released between Oct 16, 1973, and Oct 15, 1974)
March 1, 1975
Paul Williams
Kenneth Ascher		Songwriters AwardSong of the YearYou and Me Against the WorldHelen Reddy
20th Annual (for recordings released between Oct 1, 1976, and Sep 30, 1977)
February 23, 1977
Kenny Ascher, Alan Bergman,
Marilyn Bergman, Rupert Holmes,
Leon Russell, Barbra Streisand,
Donna Weiss, Paul Williams,
Kenny Loggins		Composers and ArrangersBest Album of an Original Score
Written for a Motion Picture or a TV Special		A Star is BornMotion Picture
22nd Annual (for recordings released between Oct 1, 1978, and Sep 30, 1979)
February 27, 1980
Paul Williams
Kenneth Ascher		Composers and ArrangersBest Album of an Original Score
Written for a Motion Picture or a TV Special		The Muppet MovieMotion Picture

Critically acclaimed live performances

Jingle writing

Ascher has composed (or co-composed) jingles for:

  1. Applause
  2. Gotcha
  3. Larry
  4. Mr. Calm
  1. The Beer
  2. Combined
  1. Brilliant Idea/ GE Brings Good Things to Life
  2. Cooking
  1. Never Underestimate
  2. Canned Chef
  3. Hockey
  4. Makes Itself
  5. Red Dress
  6. Snowman
  7. Stay Young
  8. Storm Radio  - Winter
  9. Superhero
  10. Superman
  11. Tennis Anyone?
  12. Wild Ride
  1. Herman Joseph  - Polo, revised arr by Kenny Ascher (1981)
  2. Herman Joseph  - Tennis, comp. & arr. by Kenny Ascher (1981)
  3. Sailboat music and arr. by Kenneth Ascher (1980)
  4. Billiards, music and arr. by Kenneth Ascher (1980)

Many of Ascher's jingle compositions were (i) produced by Sunday Productions (Hilary Jay Lipsitz, born 1933, president), (ii) published by Ahoskie Music, Inc. (Hilary Jay Lipsitz, president), and (iii) licensed by ASCAP.

Academic education

Ascher holds three diplomas from Columbia University:

While at Columbia, Ascher studied composition with Otto Luening, Jack Beeson, and Vladimir Ussachevsky and piano with William Albert Beller[9] [10] (1900–1986). Ascher graduated from William F. Dykes High School in Atlanta, as valedictorian, and entered Columbia College, Columbia University on a math scholarship. In 1966, while in college, the Kenny Ascher Quintet performed live in WKCR's Stone Soup at midnight.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Who's Who in Rock Music, by William York, Charles Scribner's Sons (1982);
  2. Frank Jones, 'Herman's new heard entertains' Nottingham Guardian Journal, 23 January 1967 p. 7
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=j-OWguyirgUC Woody Herman & Stuart Troup, The Woodchopper's Ball: The Autobiography of Woody Herman
  4. [Gene Lees]
  5. "Jazz: Vital Creativity by Stamm Group", by John Steuart Wilson (1913–2002), New York Times, February 25, 1973
  6. "Going Out Guide: You're Not Alone", New York Times, May 14, 1973
  7. "In Performance: Cabaret; Celebrations Without Tinsel", by Stephen Holden, New York Times, December 12, 2000
  8. "Cabaret Guide", New York Times, July 13, 2001
  9. ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th ed., compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers by Jaques Cattell Press, New York, R.R. Bowker (1980);
  10. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, the late Leonard Feather (ed.) & the late Ira Gitler, Oxford University Press (1999), pg. 110;
  11. "Radio: Music", New York Times, pg. 77, col. 2, December 16, 1966

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kenneth Ascher".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.