Besides leading the Bruce Katz Band, Katz has played with the Delbert McClinton Band, Jaimoe's Jasssz Band, and John Hammond, the latter (Hammond) whom he still plays with on occasion. He was a member of the Gregg Allman Band from 2007-2013. Bruce is also currently touring with Les Brers, featuring former members of the famed Allman Bros. band, as well as Butch Trucks and the Freight Train Band, fronted by the ex-Allman Bros. drummer.

Out From The Center, the new CD from legendary keyboardist and four time Blues Music Award Nominee Bruce Katz, also features talented guitarist and vocalist, Chris Vitarello. Chris has been performing with the Bruce Katz Band for ten years, but really steps into the limelight on this album, singing and writing tunes along with Katz. Indeed, Out From The Center is a true band effort, with longtime drummer Ralph Rosen also contributing tunes to the CD, alongside bandleader Katz. Out From The Center is both eclectic and accessible, incorporating emotional blues-rooted music as well as traveling “the wide world of blues”, as Katz calls it. The trio touches down on “jam” tunes, traditional piano blues and Boogie-Woogie/Hammond B3-powered “soul-jazz” as well. Consisting of eleven original tunes, Out From The Center continues the band’s tradition of combining virtuosic playing, raw emotion and a truly original sound - one that is coming from the soul of the Blues tradition while simultaneously growing that tradition. This is exciting, vital music from a band in it's creative prime.

Bruce Katz's music occupies a unique space where blues, soul/jazz, jam-band rock, and all aspects of Americana music collide into a style of original music all his own. As a performer, Bruce has been an in-demand sideman as well as leading his own band - playing and recording with many of the leading names in blues and roots music, appearing on over 70 albums with artists such as Ronnie Earl, John Hammond, Delbert McClinton, Gregg Allman, Duke Robillard, Joe Louis Walker, Little Milton, Maria Muldaur, Jimmy Witherspoon, Paul Rishell, Mighty Sam McClain, Debbie Davies, David “Fathead” Newman and many others.

Katz has a lengthy background in classical piano. After hearing a Bessie Smith record at the age of ten, he started teaching himself blues and early jazz on the piano. Bruce then heard boogie-woogie and swing music and continued his musical journey into more aspects of jazz and American roots music. He attended Berklee College of Music in the mid-1970s, studying Composition and performance.

For the next fifteen years, Katz performed with many of the leading musicians in New England, and played “on the road” for long stretches of time. After a particularly long stint of touring in the late '80s with Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, Katz decided to come off the road and enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he earned a Master's degree in Jazz Performance. It was during this time that he conceived of and started writing music that became the Bruce Katz Band.

In 1992, Bruce met Ronnie Earl, who soon invited him to join his band, The Broadcasters. During his nearly five-year stint with Earl, Katz toured the world and performed on six albums, writing and co- writing many of the band's tunes, such as "The Colour of Love," "Ice Cream Man," and "Hippology." The album “Grateful Heart” (Bullseye) won the Downbeat Critics Poll for Best Blues Album of 1996. The same year, Katz debuted his first solo album, "Crescent Crawl", on the AudioQuest label. He released "Transformation" the following year. Just before the release of "Mississippi Moan" in 1997, his third solo album, Katz left the Broadcasters to concentrate on a solo career. At that point, the Bruce Katz Band began touring the U.S. and Europe, and has been his ongoing focus, in addition to his many other projects. Bruce also played with Duke Robillard (2001-02), John Hammond (2005 – present), Gregg Allman (2007-13) and many other high-profile roots, blues and rock performers, while continuing to tour and record with his own band.

In addition to performing, Katz teaches piano, Hammond organ and theory privately at his studio in West Shokan, NY. He also conducts Master Classes in Hammond B3 and Blues History, which he has done at various schools and music festivals worldwide. Formerly from Boston, Bruce has been based in Woodstock, NY since 2005.

Bruce Katz Band "Out From The Center"  - 2016 Fall/Winter Tour Itinerary:

Sept. 17 (Sat.)                 THE REGATTABAR                    Cambridge, MA

Sept. 23 (Fri.)                   CHAN'S                                    Woonsocket, RI

Sept. 25 (Sun.)                 DARYL'S HOUSE                        Pawling, NY

Oct. 1 (Sat.)                     GODFREY DANIELS                    Bethelehem, PA

Oct. 20 (Thur.)                 UPTOWN LIVE                           Greenwood, SC

Oct. 21 (Fri.)                    ROASTING ROOM                      Bluffton, SC

Oct. 22 (Sat.)                   MADLIFE STAGE & STUDIOS       Woodstock, GA

Oct. 23 (Sun.)                  CAPITOL OYSTER BAR                Montgomery, AL

Oct. 25 (Tues.)                PARADISE BAR & GRILL               Pensacola Beach, FL

Oct. 27 (Thur.)                ALE & WITCH                              St. Petersburg, FL

Oct. 28 (Fri.)                   ACE'S LOUNGE                            Brandenton, FL

Oct. 29 (Sat.)                   BUCKINGHAM BLUES                  Ft. Meyers, FL

Nov. 4 (Fri.)                     HELSINKI HUDSON                     Hudson, NY

Nov. 5 (Sat.)                    TURNING POINT                         Piermont, NY

Nov. 25 (Fri.)                   PITTMAN'S FREIGHT ROOM        Laconia, NH

Dec. 1 (Thur.)                  SLIPPERY NOODLE                     Indianapolis, IN

Dec. 2 (Fri.)                     MIDWAY TAVERN                       Mishawaka, IN

Dec. 3 (Sat.)                     GUY HOLLERIN'S                        Ann Arbor, MI

Dec. 6 (Tues.)                  FAT FISH PUB                             Galesburg, IL

Dec. 7 (Wed.)                   ZOO BAR                                   Lincoln, NB

Dec. 8 (Thur.)                  21ST AMENDMENT SALOON       Omaha, NB

Dec. 10 (Sat.)                   KNUCKLEHEAD'S                        Kansas City, MO

Dec. 11 (Sun.)                  BYRON'S                                     Pomeroy, IA

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