Jeff Kellem (ASCAP) is a pianist/keyboardist with a background in analog synthesis, composition, classical, jazz, and electronic music. In the 1980s, he helped build a new electronic music studio to supplement tape splicing and the ARP 2500 & 2600s at Boston University. He played keys with groovy funk rock (now trip-hop) band Z.O.N.K. in its early days in San Francisco, California and was part of the mid-1990s Boston music scene.
Jeff is also a typeface designer (music notation & text fonts), dancer, choreographer, concert/musician photographer, music/composition/dance coach, system architect, and researcher. He has performed around the world; some favorite performance cities include Prague, Paris, Moscow, Asheville, and Boston. He continues to guest perform with vintage and swing dance troupes.
During the pandemic, one lifeline has been the ASMAC (American Society of Music Arrangers & Composers) community and regular 3-hour events. Jeff has tried to help out when able by providing further research information for each event, helping judge scholarship competition, and occasionally participating a tiny bit. The arrangement for the Why Be Good? silent film clip below came about because of an ASMAC event. In 2022, Jeff joined ASMAC’s Board of Directors.
Composition coaching sessions—providing a sounding board—have also been a salve over the past few years.
One unexpected project in 2021 was composing and recording a quick jingle for David Jonathan Ross’s Font of the Month Club. Perhaps we’ll expand on some of the other ideas produced for a future jingle.
Some Current & Future Projects
A couple of these are long-term, in-progress projects that require lots of energy, time, research, and production.
- Researching and writing a booklet of backstory & charts along with restoration for a 1960s-era unreleased recording. Hoping to release in 2023. Depends on access to archives, people, and being able to travel to spots around the world. Likely a box set with vinyl.
- Retrospective concert photography/essay book and recording project with a focus on bands from 30 years ago from my collection. About 10,000 photographs to scan, repair (when needed), and review. Hopeful release would be by 2025, but it may take longer.
- String Orchestra composition.
- Jazz arrangements for a group out east.
- Concert Orchestra composition or two to complete.
- Harp composition exploration.
- Returning to the studio in 2022/2023, hopefully.
- Returning to my typeface designs (music and text fonts).
Some tracks and albums are available on:
Rough Cuts
Random snippets of rough cuts, often random improvisations.
Silent Film Clip
This 3.5-minute clip from the silent film Why Be Good? (1929) starring Colleen Moore was scored/arranged by Jeff Kellem using the same compiled score technique used during the silent film era. Scored for the ASMAC Scoring Silent Film event with Rodney Sauer of the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra on 12 June 2021.
Music used from the Silhouettes suite (1919) by Henry Hadley, original arrangement by Charles J. Roberts. More detail in the YouTube description.
Jeff Kellem Discography playlist on Spotify