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Ryan Burns

Ryan Burns studied piano at Berklee School of Music in Boston, and has been teaching and playing music professionally for over 20 years. He has performed with Rock and Roll Hall-of- Famers Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, Yardbirds), Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Ann & Nancy Wilson (Heart), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Rick Nielson (Cheap Trick) and Duff MacKagan (Guns and Roses); as well as with elite jazz artists such as Wayne Horvitz, Skerik, Matt Jorgensen, Thomas Marriott, Bobby Previte, Bobby Watson and others. Burns has played piano with the Tacoma Symphony, wrote music for the Food Network TV show “Food Nation with Bobby Flay,” and played piano with the group Thunderpussy for the soundtrack of the Hollywood movie “Fighting with My Family.” Burns spent time on faculty at University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University. He currently owns and operates Burien School of Music, teaching piano, bass, and guitar.

Awards

with Matt Jorgensen +451 (Earshot Jazz Magazine's "Best Acoustic Group" of 2003); with Bebop and Destruction (2004 Seattle Weekly "Best Jazz/Avant-Garde Band")

Ryan Burns: Postponed Parade

Read "Postponed Parade" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
November 18, 2020

Keyboardist Ryan Burns' Postponed Parade happened, in large part, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The vexing virus that hit us in 2020 made getting together difficult and dangerous--for music-making or anything else. So here is what Burns did: During Covid-19 times he recorded and released a single tune each month, from May to October 2020. These sessions took place in his contributing musicians' houses, with the exception of “Shoreline," recorded in a studio, but with everyone in a separate room. ...

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Album Review

Ryan Burns: Birds

Read "Birds" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
April 2, 2010

Keyboardist Ryan Burns possesses a distinctive artistry, one that is integral to the success of the sound of the Matt Jorgensen + 451 group on sets such as Hope (Origin Records, 2004) and Another Morning (Origin Records, 2008), and with trumpeter Thomas Marriott on the strange and stellar Crazy:The Music of Willie Nelson (Origin Records, 2008). Burns also works as a leader on the acoustic piano trio set Tree-O (Odd Bird Records, 2007), and now on the plugged-in Birds. A ...

378

Album Review

Ryan Burns / Geoff Cooke / Jose Martinez: Tree-O

Read "Tree-O" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
February 14, 2007

Tree-O, a Ryan Burns-led piano trio affair, caught me by surprise. I was already familiar with Burns' work with Matt Jorgensen + 451 on the CD Hope (Origin Records, '04) and an excellent live show with that group at Dizzy's in San Diego, so I thought this effort would fall into the forward-lean/electric keyboard category. But it's an acoustic set, a genuine tip of the hat to the piano trio's past.The opener, “Gettin' Red-y (for Red Garland)," sets ...

Recording

Keyboardist Ryan Burns Releases "Live at London Bridge"

Source: Ryan Burns
February 17, 2012

Seattle keyboardist Ryan Burns has released his 5th CD as a leader for Odd Bird Records titled Ryan Burns Quartet—Live at London Bridge. Alto saxophonist Mark Taylor, piano/rhodes player Burns, bassist Geoff Cooke, and drummer Matt Jorgensen all gathered in the world renowned London Bridge Studio in front of a live audience. Originals by Burns, Taylor, and Cooke, along with covers by Coltrane, Monk, and Frisell make up the set of music. The performance was hosted by Jason Parker and ...
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Performance / Tour

Ryan Burns CD Release at Tula's This Thursday

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
March 10, 2010

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Event

Keyboardist Ryan Burns CD Release Show Announced

Source: Michael Ricci
January 11, 2010

Keyboardist Ryan Burns' new group will perform at Tula's Nightclub in Seattle, WA Thursday March 11, 2010 in conjunction with Burns' first electric CD as a leader. The recording Birds (2010 OddBird Records) prominently features analog keyboards such as Fender Rhodes, Hammond Organ, and Moog Synthesizer. The recording of all original material also features bassist Geoff Cooke, drummer Jose Martinez, and saxophonist Mark Taylor. An acoustic 1st set starts at 7:30pm, and the 2nd set will be electric, with lots ...
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Press: Ryan Burns - Electronic Keyboardist

"Keyboardist Ryan Burns has a controlled style on organ, Moog and Fender Rhodes, the latter played with a gorgeous chime-like tone." -Scott Albin, Jazz Times

"On Fender Rhodes, Ryan Burns re-minds listeners that the instrument was one of the most successful attempts at an electric, piano-like sound. And, while it can sound retro-hip now, it also can be hip, plain and simple, and that's a far more worthy accomplishment."

"...in the wake of all the good that Weather Report and Miles Davis had done for jazz electronification, he generally steers well clear of what are, at this remove, its many cliche's." -Peter Monaghan, Earshot Jazz