Russ Kaplan

Russ Kaplan is a musical storyteller. A creatively restless composer and versatile keyboardist, his diverse musical obsessions have led him through the worlds of jazz, rock, and theatre music.

A recent transplant to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, Russ is continuing to explore his obsessions with world music, indie rock, and modal improvisation. His newest project is a trio with local luminaries Jeremy Ylvisaker (guitar) and Marcus Wise (tabla).

Previously, Russ resided in central Florida for a year, where he found inspiration with the abundant and fascinating wildlife. The result was the album Lake Songs, his first foray into thru-composed solo piano chamber music.

Russ also spent many years in the New York area, leading the postmodern jazz supergroup "Russ Kaplan + 7." Their lone release The Ulysses Cycle is a 20-song narrative suite based on Homer's Odyssey, taking jazz into the high-concept narrative realm. RK+7 also served as the house band for the live concert series "Russ Kaplan's Broadway Jazz Session," a coming-together of the jazz and Broadway scenes that featured a who's-who of guest musicians and vocalists.

Russ originally studied Theater Directing at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama, where he also studied Jazz performance with legendary saxophonist Eric Kloss. In New York he has played with a diverse array of Rock, Jazz and Americana bands, as well as composing music for the hit Off-Broadway musical In Transit.

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