Scott Routenberg
Scott Routenberg (born 1978) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and orchestrator. Currently Associate Professor of Jazz Piano at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, he has published both full-length compositions for jazz ensembles and several studio albums. His 2003, 2006, and 2020 releases "explore jazz-influenced electro-acoustic hybrids." He has won a number of songwriting contests, including the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Maxell Song of the Year in 2004 for his song "Bandwidth", which also won the JLSC's Grand Prize in the Jazz Category. Ensembles such as the Metropole Orkest and conductors such as Vince Mendoza have commissioned pieces by Routenberg, and he has performed at international venues such as the Montreaux Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. Stated jazz violinist Christian Howes, "Scott Routenberg is a rare musician with both the experience to play modern jazz piano on the highest level and the discipline to write elegant, long-form symphonic pieces." Early life, education Routenberg was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1978. Raised by his parents in Atlanta, he has some ancestry from Western Ukraine. Routenberg began learning jazz piano at age fifteen after being inspired by his uncle, a vocalist and pianist. Among Routenberg's first jazz piano teachers was the Brazilian bossa nova pianist and bandleader Manfredo Fest. Routenberg attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill starting in 1997, graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in music and communications. He went on to earn three graduate degrees from 2001 to 2008 at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. First he worked on his master's degree in jazz piano performance from 2001 to 2003 in the studio of Vince Maggio (a student of pianist Oscar Peterson). Routenberg then earned a Master of Music in media writing and production in 2005, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in jazz composition in 2008. His jazz piano teachers have included Ted Howe, Dr. Scott Warner, Chip Crawford, and Vince Maggio among others. In Miami he studied composition and arranging with Gary Lindsay and Ron Miller. Lindsay was his doctoral advisor, while Routenberg has cited Miller's modal jazz concepts as an influence on his own songwriting. Miller has also taught guitarist Pat Metheny, among others. His doctoral essay was titled Americana Suite: A Composition for Full Orchestra, Big Band, and Jazz Chamber Ensembles Inspired by American Master Paintings, and was published by the ProQuest Learning Company. He has also authored material for INform Magazine, published by the Indiana Music Educators Association. Music career 2000-06: Solo albums Shapeshifter (2000) In 2000 Routenberg released his first solo album, the jazz-themed Shapeshifter. The album was "dedicated to the great Brazilian pianist Manfredo Fest, mentor and friend, who selflessly taught me the timeless art of jazz piano." Lots of Pulp (2003) His second solo album, Lots of Pulp, was independently released in 2003. Genres include jazz, classical, and electronic, and all tracks were written, arranged, produced, mixed and mastered by Routenberg, with co-writers on some tracks. With respect to instruments Routenberg