Lee Kohler
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lee Kohler (born June 22, 1961) is an American pianist, composer, and vocalist, best known as being the leader of the band This World.


Early life and education

Kohler was raised in
Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...
, United States, along with his siblings Rob,
Kate Kate name may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer * Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...
, and Ken Kohler. His father, John Kohler, was a music educator and saxophonist, and his mother Marjorie is a church organist. Kohler attended
Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...
in Bozeman, studying piano with Leslie Jones and Henry Campbell. Kohler toured the United States in 1980 with the band Phoenix Express, then known as Nova. The band opened for acts such as
Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...
,
Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...
, and
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett) was an American pop rock group active in the late 1960s. The group, formed by Gary Puckett, Gary "Mutha" Withem, Dwight Bement, Kerry Chater and Paul Wheat ...
.


In Flight (1983-90)

In 1983, Kohler founded the band
In Flight In baseball, the rules state that a batted ball is considered in flight when it has not yet touched any object other than a fielder or his equipment. Such a ball can be caught by a fielder to put the batter out. Once a batted ball touches the g ...
with guitarist Robi Johns. Kohler's brother Rob joined the band in 1985. The group then consisted of Lee Kohler on keyboards, Rob Kohler on bass, and Robi Johns on guitar. The group composed all of their own music, which was a mix of classical, jazz, and new age styles. They travelled to Seattle in 1986 to record their first album at the Music Source, where
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
would later record parts of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991. The album, entitled "...Imagine a Music" was self-released on cassette. After increasing press attention and critical acclaim, the trio was invited to perform at the
Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
in 1989. They performed three times at the festival in July 1989, for audiences of more than 70,000 each. The group disbanded in 1990.


Return as This World (1995-present)

In 1995, Lee and Rob Kohler formed another trio with drummer Michael Blessing, called This World. The band saw Lee Kohler shift from acoustic piano to a focus on synthesizers and singing, and the addition of percussion added a new dimension to the new band's sound. The group recorded an eponymous album with veteran producer
Cookie Marenco Cookie Marenco is an American audio engineer, record producer, and composer. She is the founder of OTR Studios and Blue Coast Records and has engineered or produced five Grammy-nominated records and has several gold records. She served as soun ...
during the summer of 1995. After Blessing left the group, he was replaced by drummer Clay Green, who appears on the band's second album ''Beyond the Beyond''. After 13 years, the band reformed again with drummer Mark Raynes to record their third album,
Celestial Skies '' Celestial Skies '' is the third studio album from the band This World (band), This World. It was released in 2013. It is the first This World album to feature Kate Kohler on background vocals. Composition and recording The album is constructe ...
.


Musical style

Kohler's compositional style is heavily influenced by
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
,
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
, and traditional church organ music. His lyrics are often calls for peace and spiritual harmony. Kohler explained in an interview with the Vacaville Reporter that he is "not very interested in what's going on politically, but humanitarianly. What inspires me are mostly world events, and human tragedy."


Personal life

Kohler married Maria Kohler in 1991. The couple has three children; Patricia (b. 1980), Matthew (b. 1990), and Anna (b. 1991).Vacaville Reporter, 13 Jan. 2002 They currently reside in
Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately fro ...
where Kohler works as a church organist.


Discography


with This World

*''...Imagine a Music'' (1986, as In Flight) *'' This World'' (1996) *''Beyond the Beyond'' (2000) *''
Celestial Skies '' Celestial Skies '' is the third studio album from the band This World (band), This World. It was released in 2013. It is the first This World album to feature Kate Kohler on background vocals. Composition and recording The album is constructe ...
'' (2013)


Solo

*''Organ Works I'' (2000) *''Organ Works III'' (2006) *''Organ Works IV'' (2009) *''Piano Works'' (2014)


with Kohler Jazz Trio

*''Blues and Things'' (1996)


As sideman

*''Harmony and Bells'' (2007, with the Kohler Green Project)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohler, Lee 1961 births Living people American male composers American male pianists American male singers People from Great Falls, Montana Musicians from Montana