Pianist, composer, improv and education
overview
MUSIC PROJECTS
FOR FANS: info and links for groups that I’m involved in
WORK & PROMOTION
FOR AGENTS: profile & media samples
THEATER & workshops
FOR ACTORS: musical improv theater workshops & more
Pianist, composer, improv and education
ABOUT
Kevin McHugh is a pianist, accordionist and composer from Seattle, WA. He studied jazz piano and German at Oberlin College and Conservatory, the oldest music school in the United States, as well as in Germany at the Technische Universität Berlin thanks to a DAAD scholarship. Kevin has since spent his time traveling and playing music in nearly 30 countries. In 2006, Kevin won a year-long Watson Fellowship to study the improvisation scenes of megacities in Brazil, Egypt, India, China, and Japan. From 2007 - 2009 he lived in New York City and San Francisco, but spent considerable time touring the US and Europe.
Kevin is a long term resident of Tokyo, where he leads and composes for the improv collective “nariiki” and post-rock jazz quartet “nouon.” Kevin is also a founding member of both the Berlin-based North American tonal Organization (NAtO) and Improlabo in Tokyo. In 2012 he was chosen to compose music for a theatrical performance and short film to support the Tohoku earthquake survivors, thanks to a grant from the Japan Foundation. He is also a recipient of a 2015 Seattle 4Culture award to lead a collaborative project between Japanese and US musicians. Besides jazz piano and accompanying, Kevin wrote the music and lyrics for a new children’s musical, “The Weirdest Kid I Know,” which debuted in 2019.