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Pianist
Kent Hewitt has been a mainstay of jazz and popular piano in
Southern New England for many years. A consummate soloist and
accompanist, he has been musical director for numerous popular
Connecticut jazz clubs. Kent leads his own trio which features
a "Tribute to the Great Pianists" of the Golden Era
of Jazz. His newest CD: Time on my Hands is a jazz trio
recording of unique and elegant standards from great American
and Brazilian composers.
He
has recorded TV jingles for Don Elliott Productions and also
recorded for Playscape
Records with Michael Musillami, Randy
Brecker, Ray Drummond, Claudio Roditi, Ralph Moore, Thomas
Chapin, as well as for Janet Marlow and Phyllis Hyman. He has
performed in concert with jazz notables Clark Terry, Phil
Woods, Kenny Burrell, Steve Rossi, Jon Hendricks, Cassandra
Wilson, among many others. In 2005 Kent released a CD of his
own compositions called Little Town by the Sea, a tribute to
Noank, a maritime village in his hometown of Groton, CT. The
CD was commissioned by the Noank Historical Society and the
Groton Tercentennial Committee for Groton's 300th anniversary.
Kent
was the first pianist to open at the famous Tropicana Hotel in
Atlantic City. He has been solo house pianist at the noted New
York jazz club- Jimmy Ryan's and has toured Europe with Czech
trumpeter Laco Deczi. He has collaborated with writer Melanie
Greenhouse and composed music for her popular theatrical
productions: Point of Land and The Duchess. He has also
collaborated with Connecticut Poet Laureate Marilyn Nelson for
the prestigious Sunken Gardens poetry festival and recorded a
CD: Poems to Music. He recently composed and performed music
for a spoken word CD for the children's book The Ladder
on
Candlewick Press.
Kent
holds a music degree in Theory and Composition from the
University of Connecticut and a business degree from Boston
University. He has studied piano and theory with Ray Santisi,
Charlie Mariano, Hal Galper, Fred Hersch, Ron Brown, and Hale
Smith. He has taught for Berklee College of Music, Trinity
College, The Hartford Conservatory, and currently The Music School of the
Rhode Island Philharmonic as well as Summerkeys
in Maine. He
also has been active as a performer and clinician for the
Hartford Jazz Society.
Kent Hewitt’s recordings
include:
Little Town by the Sea
-
original compositions for a hometown
Time on my Hands
- Piano Trio Jazz
Play a Sad Song- with Carmen Cicero
Latin Lover - with
Janet Marlow
Mars Bars -with
Michael Musillami
Poems to Music -with
Marilyn
Nelson
How
Little We Know -with Karen
Frisk
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