Kiefer Shackelford (born (January 30, 1992), known mononymously as Kiefer, is an American pianist and producer based in Los Angeles, California.

Biography

Born in 1992 in San Diego, Kiefer started playing piano around age six, and was first introduced to jazz by his father. Growing up, he took classical and jazz lessons, and by his teens was an adept soloist and began experimenting with producing his own computer-based hip-hop and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

beats. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

’s Jazz Studies program, where he was mentored by renowned jazz guitarist

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

, flautist

James Newton James W. Newton (born May 1, 1953) is an American jazz and classical flutist. Biography He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African-American music, inclu ...

and pianist Tamir Hendelman. It was at the institution where he experimented jazz

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

and live

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

with programmed electronic beats. In 2017, Kiefer worked with musicians

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the fathe ...

, Gilbert Castellanos and Rob Thorsen. He also collaborated on several hip-hop projects with Stones Throw affiliates Mndsgn and Jonwayne. That same year, he released his debut album ''Kickinit Alone'', on Leaving Records, where the title track was described as a 'short piano phrase looping like it was ripped from a dusty vinyl and brought to life' by

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

. Kiefer signed with Stones Throw the following year and debuted with ''Happysad''. He released two EPs – ''Bridges'' and ''Superbloom'' – in 2019. Kiefer used various analog synths, and adopted an even more compositional approach to his songwriting for this series. In March 2021, Kiefer released two singles – ''Superhero'' and ''Friends'' – before dropping the last instalment in the trilogy of EPs, ''Between Days'', on Stones Throw. The EP features producers The Kount, 10.4 ROG, LAKEY INSPIRED and jazz trumpeter

Theo Croker Theodore Lee Croker (born July 18, 1985) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and vocalist. He is a Grammy Award nominee, three-time Echo Award nominee, as well as a Theodore Presser Award recipient. Croker has released over seve ...

. His own music projects aside, Kiefer worked on Anderson .Paak's album ''Ventura'' which debuted at number four on the US

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

200 and won Best R&B Album at the 2020

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. Kiefer co-produced the track ''Yada Yada'' and the album's lead single, "King James", which pays homage to LeBron James. He is also a fixture in Mndsgn's live setup, and has made beats with

Kaytranada Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian music producer, rapper, singer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of m ...

, and played with

Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...

Moses Sumney Moses Sumney (born May 19, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. His self-recorded EP, ''Mid-City Island'', was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled ''Lamentations''. His first full-length album, ''Aroma ...

, among others. On November 10, 2021, Kiefer released a piano course — ''Kiefer: Keys, Chords, and Beats —'' with online music school Soundfly. On February 18, 2022, Samsung released the 2022 version of their Galaxy S series's Over The Horizon, which was produced by Kiefer entirely.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Kickinit Alone'' (2017) * ''Happysad'' (2018) * ''When There's Love Around'' (2021) * ''It's Ok, B U'' (2023)

EPs

* ''Bridges'' (2019) * ''Superbloom'' (2019) * ''Between Days'' (2021)

Singles

* "Miss U" (2018) * "Pariah (Kiefer Remix)" (2018) * "Superhero" (2021) * "Friends" (2021) * "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shackelford, Kiefer 1992 births Living people Musicians from Los Angeles American record producers American artists Stones Throw Records artists