The child of a concert pianist and teacher, and a world-class operatic baritone, Warren began playing and singing early. His father, Howard Keller, blessed with an incredible baritone voice, studied with Carlton Gauld (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Gauld). Warren's dear mother, Roslyn, apprenticed with several luminaries: Anatole Kitain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatole_Kitain), Constance Keene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Keene), and her husband Abram Chasins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Chasins). As a teacher, 'Roz' was responsible for developing the talents of Joel Levine, musical director emeritus of the Oklahoma Philharmonic, and Sting’s occasional accompanist, Ken Helman. Warren has sung, played woodwinds (tenor/alto saxophone, flute), and written music on the New York City and Nashville music scenes. Warren was fortunate enough to have studied with the late, great Kenny Davern (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Davern), who began his career with Jack Teagarden, and was a multiple winner of the Downbeat Poll for soprano sax and clarinet. Three other master teachers were Gerry Orrico, fabulous alto sax and alto flute player for the Tex Benecke Orchestra and The Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, vocal coach Marty Lawrence who taught everyone from Vicki Carr to David Coverdale, and guitarist Gary Talley of The Box Tops. Warren says that to have benefited from their level of musicianship humbles him. While playing classical clarinet and jazz sax with high school ensembles, he began his professional career with friends from New Jersey in the band 'Harper.' Though having aspirations of performing original music, they remained largely a cover band, albeit, one of the Jersey Shore's best. While the formative years from 1973-1979 were spent with this one act, Warren's singing, playing, and performing abilities were honed by the variety of styles they covered, and their extensive travels as a road band in the US and Canada. Beginning as a Chicago Transit Authority clone playing over 40 of their songs, Harper morphed into a Disco-Funk act, covering everything from Earth, Wind, and Fire, to Crown Heights Affair. It was at this time that Harper became the backup band of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer and Motown producer Terry Johnson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_%22Buzzy%22_Johnson) and his Flamingos ("I Only Have Eyes for You"). Their days with these veteran performers were both educational and fun. After Harper left Terry, Warren stepped out from his role as saxophonist, percussionist, and occasional singer, to become lead singer/front man. Harper evolved into a Top-40 hard rock act, doing Springsteen, Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Kansas, and Boston, as well as vestiges of their horn-oriented and funky past. In their final incarnation before Warren's departure in 1979, he had introduced the band to the new wave of the Clash, Elvis Costello, and The Cars.
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With a strong desire to be part of a band that wrote and performed original music, 'Killer' Keller teamed with singer/songwriter Ronnie Decal (DeCavalcanti) in 1979. Adding bass player Dave Post (http://www.swingadelic.com/), they formed Ronnie and the Jitters. Here's Warren on wailin' sax (http://ffanzeen.blogspot.com/2010/03/two-on-ronnie-jitters.html). Googling Ronnie and the Jitters- Roll Over, or Wild Weekend/Black Slax turns up interesting references to those glory days in NYC's New Wave/Punk scene of 1979-1984. They enjoyed regular airplay on WPIX-FM in NYC, rubbed elbows w/ Bowie, Blondie, Benatar, Thin Lizzie, The Ramones, The New York Dolls, Billy Idol, etc., and were headliners at: CBGB's, Max's Kansas City, Limelight, Hurrah, Danceteria, Club 57-Irving Plaza, the Other/Bitter End, etc. The original producer of their 'Roll Over' EP was Steve (Broughton) Lunt of Mercury Records' City Boy who was produced by Jeff Mutt Lange (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Boy). Steve went on to write 'She Bop' for Cindy Lauper, and to head Jive/Zomba's A&R department, spearheading the careers of the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and N'Sync, (Ronnie fired him for being too pop; nice move Ron! :>). The Jitters' drummer was Steve Missal, whom while with the Jitters, was featured on Billy Idol's White Wedding album. Steve had studied with Motown's Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie, and also backed Benny Mardones, and Ted Nugent. During subsequent recordings with Missal, 'Killer' worked with Steve Addabbo, Suzanne Vega's producer, and The Sweet's bassist Steve Priest ("Fox on the Run," "Love Is Like Oxygen"). Interestingly enough, before Idol broke big in the US, Billy used to open for The Jitters, as did The Smithereens. In addition to Ronnie Decal's primal rhythm guitar, lead players included Russ Shirley (Turtles/Flo & Eddie, and Meatloaf's Karla DeVito) (http://www.russshirleymusic.com/Bio.html), and Warren's good friend, Eddie Angel (Heeran) who played on Roll Over. Eddie’s band, Rounder Records' Los Straitjackets (http://www.straitjackets.com/) has had an amazing, international career. Warren had the chance to record with him (http://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/eddie_angel/lynxtail___rampage/), as well as on a tribute to The Trashmen. Eddie and Warren were to reconnect later while both living in Nashville. Despite a critically acclaimed EP, distribution in UK and the continent by Nervous Records, and nearly cinching a recording deal with Stiff-CBS in the US (the label of Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe), the Jitters disbanded in 1984. Their many fans included David Bowie and Gary U.S. Tallent of Springsteen’s E Street Band. Warren moved on to Louie Louie and the Lost Hombres, and then the Blue Zombies. The Zombies’ ‘lounge lizard’ 40s- 60s repertoire took him to the clubs of Hoboken, NJ, where bassist Dave Post eventually became a partner in Maxwell’s Lounge with a member of Sonic Youth. Louie Louie secured the representation of Stan Poses who had managed The Raspberries (Go All the Way), Eric Carmen, and the fantastic Badfinger ("Come and Get It," "No Matter What," "Day After Day"). A video of the Lost Hombres can be found here (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=qg9gkReas1Y). As with The Jitters, despite acclaim and major label interest, fame was not to be, and with a new interest in modern country music,
Warren began to think about a solo career. Inspired by a love of rootsy, Americana music and a new, decidedly Nashville ‘muse' in his head, he began exhaustively writing and demo-ing songs. Securing the Spinners’ managers Buddy and Steve Allen's representation, and through him, Don Friedman of the law firm of Grubman, Indursky and Shire (formerly Schindler- Michael Jackson and Madonna’s reps), he did several major label showcase performances. With excellent feedback, but a feeling that he was too country for New York, it was recommended he move to Nashville to write for Famous Music and in 1992, he did so. He began the Music City experience as many do, waiting tables and working retail while writing songs, playing writers' nights, and networking. During his time there, he met and spoke with B.J. Thomas, Don Everly, Eddie Arnold, Alan Jackson, Jerry Reed, Trisha Yearwood, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Kix Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus- the list goes on. After a year of recording demos with Gary Sadker (former Billy Dean band director and pianist), dropping off tapes to anyone who would listen, and calling on performing rights organizations, Warren wrote a song called “Top of My Head.” It impressed Gary enough that he suggested a 'dyed in the wool' country demo singer could take it over the top. With Billy Bob Shane's terrific baritone voice singing Warren's lyrics, the song got the attention of four established publishers. The requested minor rewrites nearly drove him nuts, but Warren says "For the first time it enabled me to emotionally detach from my 'babies' and gain the confidence to dissect and reconstruct lyrics to attain perfectly crafted results and to get songs published." While neither Millhouse Music nor Terry Rose Music ended up taking the song, Bob Berg at Air Deluxe Music did, and that began a professional relationship that lasted over a decade. Bob's keen eye for lyrics helped Warren become a fine craftsman as he published over 20 of his songs. During this time, Warren began co-writing with other fine tunesmiths, most notably Scott Fishkind, a Berkelee School of Music graduate from New York (former Michael Bolton accompanist), who became his primary partner. As a rock writer, Warren didn't understand the benefits of co-writing when he arrived in Music City. The first time he heard the phrase 'economy of lyrics' it upset him. Now though, he understood it. Nashville, like New York's Tin Pan Alley before it, was about songcraft and producing commercially successful product. While there remains much artistry in a Nashville song, they are economical- tight and to the point, literal narratives which have the power of telling a life story in two verses and a chorus with not a word wasted. Within the space of 3-minutes, they must make you laugh or cry, or at least make you care about the protagonist. And, they must be catchy, singable, and ready for rerecording by a major artist. This is fundamentally different from the freer, artist-driven and performed, more self-indulgent style permitted and even expected in rock and roll songwriting. Country writing is often best accomplished by 2-3 writers working it like the craft project it is. That being said, nothing shines brighter than a perfectly penned Nashville song, and despite his near misses with success, Warren was privileged to be the writer or co-writer of several of them. Demos were recorded at both pedal steel player, Robbie Turner's (Waylon Jennings and The Highwaymen [son of Hank Williams Sr.'s Doyle and Bernice Turner]) Turner Up studio, and Jay Vern's Place (former Laurie Morgan bandleader and pianist), using some of the best session players on Nashville's 'B-Team'. The tracks these guys laid down, minutes after hearing a song for the first time is amazing. Warren was eventually affiliated by invitation to SESAC and wrote with #1 hit writers such as Burton Collins (“How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye” for Patty Loveless). He also had a 'hold' on “She Ain't Easy” for Giant Records' Daryle Singletary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daryle_Singletary), and “What Can I Get You for Christmas” was taken by both Reba McEntire's and Garth Brooks' producers but unfortunately not 'cut' (recorded). While he wrote, demo-ed, and pursued a cut, he kept up his sax and vocal chops with two acts, playing tenor in a Jazz- Fusion duo called Parallel 12, playing the catchy grooves of his partner, keyboardist Trey Hester. He also had fun wailing on sax and doing some singing for a rock and blues cover band called The Markers, which had a substantial following. Feeling that he'd done all he could and having some hope for success with his songs left in publisher Bob Berg's catalog, he returned to New Jersey in 2001. The only notable musical contribution during this time was as Jeanne Lozier's sax man (http://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_bio/artist_525457).
But, by then astrophotography had stolen his heart, as he left for the dark skies of Coudersport, Pennsylvania (Black Forest Star Party) to pursue this new art form. While living in this remote and provincial place, he had the good fortune of befriending and becoming the sideman of Mr. Larry Herbstritt, a multiple top-ten songwriter (“I Just Fall in Love Again” for Anne Murray) and Hollywood composer and orchestrator who had returned to his boyhood home (http://www.discogs.com/artist/Larry+Herbstritt). A move to West Virginia in 2007 seemed to have closed the chapter on Warren's 35-year pursuit of musical success. Despite a thriving acoustic music scene there, he didn't feel sufficient desire to get involved. In the weeks before he learned of his mom's terminal illness, she and Warren rehearsed clarinet and piano duets together as they had done when he was a kid. This was a wonderful completion of an era, and brings us back to where this narrative began.
Inspired in 2015 by the terrific, young jazz players graduating from a local college jazz program (West Virginia Wesleyan College), Warren rededicated himself to sax and flute, this time determined to improve in the style he had come to love. After three years of intense 'woodshedding,' he can now solo comfortably over many changes. As a singer, Warren was about as good as anyone, and although long periods of his life saw the woodwinds rarely taken out of their cases, the desire to express himself through singing, rarely waned. He is able to produce pure, powerful tone like a Josh Groban, or sing soulful ballads like Southside Johnny's “The Fever.” Some of Warren's biggest influences were David Byron of Uriah Heep, Jack Bruce of Cream, David Bowie, Ian Anderson, John Lennon, Garth Brooks, Maurice White, and Bob Marley. Warren has opened for The Beach Boys, The Trammps, Iggy Pop, Peter Tork, Randy Meisner, The Jaggerz, and others. Having survived over twenty-five years as an 'almost but not quite', Warren is grateful for the many friends and memories he made through music. He is equally grateful for having been allowed to fill the void left by what he and everyone who knew him believed was his destiny. His reputation as a world renowned astro-imager and teacher, and the opportunity to produce beautiful, visual art saved his creative life, giving him some of the accolades he had strove for in music. An interesting irony is that many of Warren's imaging friends are also high-level musicians. Warren is thrilled to have music back in his life however, and tries to balance his two interests, practicing each daily. From 2017 on, Warren has been writing and producing original, contemporary and smooth jazz tunes, under the artist name Spontaneous Groovin' Combustion (SGC). Since April 2019, SGC has enjoyed airplay on major Internet, satellite, and FM radio stations, and has made SmoothJazz’s Top 30, RadioWave’s Top 30, and Smooth Jazz Network’s Top 50 charts, and were included on SmoothJazz.com’s Top 100 Albums of 2020, 2021, and 2022 charts. Their single, “Jackie’s New Car” was featured on Sirius XM Watercolors’ Dave Koz Lounge, and several of their hits are in regular rotation on cable TV’s Music Choice. SGC has surpassed 350,000 lifetime Spotify streams and 1 Million streams at Amazon Music. Enjoy the jazz music of Warren Keller and Spontaneous Groovin' Combustion!
Awards
SmoothJazz.com’s Top 100 Albums of 2020, 2021, and 2022 charts
Gear
Trevor James Signature Custom Tenor and Alto Saxophones. Trevor James Virtuoso Voce Flute
SR Technologies 108 Fusion and Theo Wanne Amma Mouthpieces
Silverstein ALTA Ambiploy #@ Jazz Reeds
Just Joe Straps
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