Kerry Politzer started picking out melodies on a toy piano at the age of
three. The following year, she started playing the real thing. She studied
classical piano for fourteen years, attending the North Carolina School of the
Arts and summer programs at Tanglewood and Interlochen. She entered the New
England Conservatory of Music with the intention of continuing her classical
studies, but fell in love with jazz.
She studied with jazz guru Charlie Banacos,
who inspired her to begin composing, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in
Jazz Piano Performance.
In 1996, Kerry was one of six finalists in the American Pianists Association's
3rd Biennial Jazz Piano Competition. Half of the contestants were from New York
City, so she decided to try her luck there. She soon discovered a brand-new
love, Brazilian music, which began to inform her jazz compositions. Her
composition Rhodes Rage won Third Prize, Jazz Category in the 2005 International
Songwriting Competition. Her composition Begin The Baiao won Third Prize, Jazz
Category in the 2000 Mid-Atlantic Song Competition and an Honorable Mention in
the 2000 John Lennon Songwriting Competition.
In 2003 and 2005, Kerry attended the Banff Jazz Workshop, performing original
music in master classes, shows and concerts. Kerry's debut album, Yearning, which
received four stars from All Music Guide. The title track, "Yearning," is also featured on Sax And The City: Musical
Contributions From New York's Best Women Jazz Instrumentalists (Apria Records,
2004). Kerry released three more albums on her own Polisonic label: Watercolor
(2002), Labyrinth (2005), and the singer-songwriter project You Took Me In
(2007). Labyrinth was a finalist for Best Jazz Album in the 2007 Independent
Music Awards. A track on You Took Me In, Love Is In The Atmosphere, won first
prize, Jazz in the August 2008 Ourstage competition. She performed this song at
the Songwriters Hall of Fame's 62nd New Writers Showcase.
Kerry recently recorded a new instrumental jazz album, Blue in Blue. She also appeared on three tracks of
George Colligan's album Runaway (Sunnyside, 2008).
Some venues where Kerry has played include Wave Hill, The Blue Note, Birdland,
The Cutting Room, the Queen Elizabeth 2, the Columbus Jazz & Ribs Festival, Jazz
Improv Live, Rockwood Music Hall, and the Kitano.
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![Blue in Blue by Kerry Politzer [Blue in Blue by Kerry Politzer]](http://he3.magnatune.com/music/Kerry%20Politzer/Blue%20in%20Blue/cover_200.jpg)
Blue in Blue
![Labyrinth by Kerry Politzer [Labyrinth by Kerry Politzer]](http://he3.magnatune.com/music/Kerry%20Politzer/Labyrinth/cover_200.jpg)
Labyrinth
![Watercolor by Kerry Politzer [Watercolor by Kerry Politzer]](http://he3.magnatune.com/music/Kerry%20Politzer/Watercolor/cover_200.jpg)
Watercolor
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