Ken Ulansey Biography
Ken Ulansey, musician and psychologist, has explored many worlds of music. He recently received the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Grant for composition; Philadelphia Music Foundation Award for Best Traditional or Contemporary Folk Performance, and was a finalist for the Pew Foundation $50,000 Grant in Composition. One of his own bands, the Ken Ulansey Ensemble, records and plays at jazz clubs and dance parties, drawing from Swing, Motown, Zydeco, Klezmer, Samba, Rhythm and Blues, and Afro-Pop, in addition to classical and the omni-present pop and rock of our time. He played with Relâche, the Ensemble for New Music, for eight years, producing their latest record. Ken toured with them extensively in Europe and the United States, including performances at Lincoln Center, Bang on a Can Festival, Seattle Museum of Modern Art, Prague Spring Festival and the Telluride Composer to Composer Festival. They premiered many new works written for and in collaboration with the ensemble by, among many others, Philip Glass and Michael Nyman.
Ken has played on over one hundred recordings of classical, jazz, folk and pop music, including Off To Philadelphia (Irish music by the Cassidys), Compositions (Jazz originals by Rich Rudin), Origami (New Age by Jay Ansill), Comets Collide (folk rock by Patti Shea, Outcome Inevitable (new classical by Relâche, And the Angels Swing (Klezmer meets Jazz by Bruce Kaminsky). His role as producer or co-producer of CDs includes credits for Pick it Up (new classical by Relâche), Post-Hip (original jazz by Heath Allen), The Complete Jewish Party CD, The Complete Latin Party CD, Everything is New (folk by Mike London) and Favorite Places (an album of free improvisations featuring cellist David Darling).
Ken has recorded for MTV, as well as for many TV commercials, several small films and dance pieces.
Ken Ulansey
7912 Serpentine Lane
Elkins Park, PA 19027
(215) 635-2515
E-mail:ku@kenumusic.com