At age 16, Kevin Bales was already an accomplished pianist, invited by Conductor Robert Shaw to audition for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. But his preference, already, was for jazz. His initial career move was to the jazz program at the University of North Florida where he met, performed with, and went on to record and tour with a number of monumental artists: Wynton Marsalis, Louie Bellson, Eddie Daniels, James Moody, Ben Tucker, Ira Sullivan, Sam Rivers, and Nat Adderley. Meeting Bunky Green there led to five years of tours, and his encounter with guitarist Nathen Page blossomed into 15 years of spot tours and four albums.
Kevin is equally at home leading a trio as collaborating with other noted jazz artists. His work with trumpeter extraordinaire Marcus Printup has become a lifetime association that includes recordings on Blue Note/Capital records. Ten years touring and recording with vocal iconoclast Rene Marie culminated in a Grammy Nomination. His recording of music composed by Fred Rogers, Beyond the Neighborhood, was named one of the top 10 albums of 2018 by Cadence Magazine and AllAboutJazz.com.
While still a senior at North Florida, Kevin was drafted into a full teaching load, and continued to be an integral part of the school’s jazz program for upwards of a decade. Today, Kevin manages his own schedule of jazz students as well as the Improvisation and Small Group programs at Atlanta’s Georgia State University.
In 1994, less than a decade into jazz, Kevin won the American Pianist Association’s Jazz Piano Competition. In addition to the important jazz venues in the South, he has performed in some of the most acclaimed clubs and festivals in America and around the world: the JVC Jazz Festival in New York, The Bakery in Los Angeles, The Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center jazz series, the Toronto and Edinburgh jazz festivals, and the Moscow Center for the Performing Arts.