John Kander
Composer John Kander teamed with lyricist Fred Ebb to forge one of the longest-running and most successful creative partnerships in Broadway history; their bold, brassy style giving rise to a series of enormously popular and provocative musicals including Cabaret, Chicago, and Kiss of the Spider Woman. Kander was born March 18, 1927, in Kansas City, MO, and began studying music as a child; he started his professional career in 1950 with Second Square, and between 1955 and 1957 served as choral director and conductor for Rhode Island's Warwick Musical Theatre. From there, he arranged the dance music for Gypsy and Irma la Douce, and made his Broadway composing debut with the 1962 flop A Family Affair. Later that same year, Kander met Ebb, with whom he soon collaborated on the songs "My Coloring Book" and "I Don't Care Much," both later recorded by Barbra Streisand. The duo's first stage musical, Golden Gate, went unrealized, but it did convince producer Harold Prince to hire them for his Flora, The Red Menace, a satire of bohemian culture and radical politics which also featured Liza Minnelli in her Tony Award-winning Broadway debut.
Kander and Ebb's next collaboration continued in the political vein of Flora, but with much more serious overtones; 1966's Cabaret, a brilliant examination of fascism in pre-war Berlin, rocketed the duo to massive critical and commercial success, winning seven Tony awards (including Best Musical) on its way to a run of 1,166 performances and an Oscar-winning film adaptation. Kander and Ebb resurfaced in 1968 with two new musicals, The Happy Time and Zorba, followed three years later by 70, Girls, 70; in 1972, they also composed a number of songs for Minnelli's Emmy-winning television special Liza With a Z. After contributing material to Streisand's 1975 film Funny Girl, later that same year Kander and Ebb launched Chicago, which was largely overlooked during its original run but was revived to massive success two decades later. In 1977, they scored Martin Scorsese's film musical New York, New York; the title song later became a signature hit for Frank Sinatra as well as the Big Apple's unofficial theme. Also that year, the duo launched The Act on Broadway; both projects starred Minnelli.
After a four-year absence from the stage, Kander and Ebb returned with 1981's Woman of the Year, a vehicle for Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall which earned four Tonys; three years later, the duo debuted The Rink, but were otherwise largely silent for the remainder of the decade. Their 1991 induction into the New York Theatre Hall of Fame coincided with the premiere of And the World Goes 'Round, an off-Broadway tribute revue featuring dozens of their songs. 1993's Kiss of the Spider Woman returned Kander and Ebb to their past prominence, netting Best Musical honors from the New York Drama Critics as well as a handful of Tony awards, including Best Actress accolades for star Chita Rivera. Steel Pier followed in 1997, and later that same year Kander and Ebb were announced as recipients of the 21st annual Kennedy Center Honors.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Cabaret (1986 London Cast)
Film Soundtracks - Released by First Night Records on Apr 6, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bande Originale du film "Chicago" (2002)
Pop - Released by Epic on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cheering For Me Now
John Kander, Lin-Manuel Miranda
Film Soundtracks - Released by Atlantic Records on Nov 20, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cabaret (Complete Recording of the Score (Original Studio Cast))
Film Soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on Sep 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flora the Red Menace (Original Off Broadway Cast)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on Sep 1, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bande Originale du film "Zorba le grec" (Alexis Zorbas - 1964)
New Broadway Cast of Zorba (1983)
Musical Theatre - Released by Masterworks Broadway on Jan 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Original Cast Recording)
Film Soundtracks - Released by First Night Records on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Scottsboro Boys (Original Off Broadway Cast Recording)
Film Soundtracks - Released by JAY Records on Oct 12, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Musicality of Kander and Ebb
Film Soundtracks - Released by JAY Records on Sep 2, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
70, Girls, 70 (Original London Cast)
Film Soundtracks - Released by JAY Records on Sep 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Along Comes Love
Colton Ryan, Anna Uzele, Original Broadway Cast of New York, New York
Film Soundtracks - Released by Wine and Peaches on Jul 3, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Landing (Original Off Broadway Cast)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on Apr 11, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Rink (Original London Cast)
Film Soundtracks - Released by JAY Records on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Rink (Original Broadway Cast) (Remastered Version)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on Aug 23, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Beast in the Jungle (Original Score Recording)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Broadway Records - Yellow Sound Label on Sep 14, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Visit (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Broadway Records - Yellow Sound Label on Jul 10, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kid Victory (Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording)
Film Soundtracks - Released by Broadway Records on Sep 29, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Scottsboro Boys (Original London Cast Recording)
Film Soundtracks - Released by JAY Records on May 26, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chicago
The Alan Peters Orchestra And Chorus
Film Soundtracks - Released by APO Records - OMiP on Aug 17, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -