Concert Pianist | Jazz and Rock Artist |Composer | Featured Houston-based Artist

KRIS BECKER is undefinable.  His fervent expressions through original rock, jazz, and nu-classical works flow from the eclecticism that colors his own personhood, while his continuing dedication to excellence as a multi-genre keyboardist makes him a unique interpreter of music.  He is a serious classical pianist who has played Carnegie Hall and he is a touring rock keyboardist who hauls his own gear into the grassroots clubs of America.  He grew up for eighteen years in a rural Northern town of 2,000 then became citizen of a Southern metropolis of millions.  He has spent summers working for the family horse business and others pursuing artistic greatness in the capitals of Europe.  He has scored top prizes in over 15 international performing and composing competitions and earned high degrees with highest honors from America’s best conservatories, and elsewhere has been told that he has nothing valuable to say as a musician.  He has been on the verge of leaving music behind for good and he’s been so dedicated to it that his astronomical sacrifice of sleep once landed him a near-death experience in a foreign hospital.

Frontman of his own endeavors and keyboardist for critically acclaimed rock band The Literary Greats, Kris has also recently found himself performing with the company of such giants as Glenn Leonard of The Temptations.  ASCAP and the International Songwriting Competition have bestowed honors upon him for his own compositions while the Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Texas International Chopin, and Lee Biennial International competitions have deemed his piano artistry gold medal-worthy.

Keyboardist, composer, songwriter, lyricist, arranger, producer, and record label owner, Kris Becker cannot and will not be defined by old, worn-out notions and categories.  Kris’ earnest desire to say something valuable to as widespread an audience as possible with as much craft and visceral enjoyability as possible–this defines his artistry.

krisbeckermusic.com

“Kris’s songwriting and creative artistry goes to another level.  He peels back the first and second layers to express depth with lyrics and with musical themes.  He’s able to wrap them all in a great variety of musical genres.”

-Wayne Watson, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter

Kris Becker is a quintessentially American piano virtuoso, in that he has mastered the traditional technique and repertoire, but finds himself equally at home in a variety of other keyboard stylings, such as rock, jazz, and ragtime. He brings an impassioned artistry, coupled with a sensitive understanding, to his musically and culturally informed performances.

-Art Gottschalk; concert and film composer, record producer, author, and Chair of Music Theory and Composition at the Shepherd School of Music

Hear Kris:

Friday, November 5 – Woodlands Salon Concert Series

Saturday, November 6 – Club Concert with Frozen Heat and The Literary Greats

Monday, November 8 – Houston Arts Presenters Showcase

Friday, November 12 – Impulse Performance

Impulse Interview with Kris: