Brian Keane

Brian Keane has maintained a packed agenda through his exceptional command of the guitar and his drive to create inventive compositions. Beyond several memorable solo releases, he has appeared on recordings by outstanding jazz figures including Larry Coryell, Paco de Lucia, and Bobby McFerrin. His four projects with Turkish multi-instrumentalist Omar Faruk Tekbilek—Suleyman the Magnificent, Fire Dance, Beyond the Sky, and Whirling—stand as benchmarks in contemporary Middle Eastern music. Often referred to respectfully as “the John Williams of the documentary world,” he has written music for more than 100 historical and social films plus television documentaries.

Keane received his musical abilities from both parents. His mother worked as an avant-garde composer and opera singer who appeared at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera House, while his father performed as a highly trained Irish tenor. Although his father had purchased a guitar with the intention of learning it himself, the instrument remained untouched until Keane began playing it at the age of ten. He mastered a handful of chords on his own and devoted countless hours to rock & roll numbers. Jazz held little appeal for him until the mid-’70s, when a Mahavishnu Orchestra concert altered his perspective. Motivated by the performance, he approached the guitar with far greater seriousness. During his time at Staples High School he took lessons at the Juilliard School of Music under John Mohegan, who developed the numeric theory of music and wrote Rhythm and Tonal Principals. By the point he entered Ithaca College he already possessed more knowledge than most of his instructors.

Although he worked with modern composer Karel Husa at Cornell University, Keane completed a B.A. in general studies. After graduation he relocated to New York and quickly joined sessions with many of the city’s leading players. He performed in a trio alongside bassist Eddie Gomez and flautist Jeremy Steig, and from 1978 to 1981 he played with the Connecticut-based fusion group Sunsight. He also started contributing as a session guitarist for Atlantic Records producer Arif Mardin.

Not long after departing Sunsight, Keane began an association with influential jazz guitarist Larry Coryell. The duo recorded three albums across the four years they performed together. His partnership with Tekbilek took shape during work on the soundtrack for the film Suleyman the Magnificent. Although Keane initially knew little about Tekbilek—who had been recommended for the project by Mardin—he grew enthusiastic following their first recording session. The resulting soundtrack proved so compelling that Celestial Harmonies offered the pair a recording contract.