Ron Kobayashi Music
INFO
Bio
Pianist and composer Ron Kobayashi has performed with a variety of musical artists including Mel Torme, Kenny Burrell, Peter Frampton,
Tom Scott, Margaret Whiting, Peter White, Najee, Wilton Felder and comedian Bob Saget. For five years Ron served as musical director for the Hollywood Diversity Awards where such stars as Chris Rock, Mark Ruffalo and George Lopez were honored. Ron has made numerous television appearances including on The Johnny Yune Show, The Jerry Lewis Telethon, The CBS News with Dan Rather, American Stars, the CBS Television series All Rise, "Life After" with Jackee Harris on the TVONE Network and on the Netflix series "Brothers Sun" airing in 2024. In 1992, Ron performed for President Bill Clinton.
Ron and his Trio (with Baba Elefante on bass and Steve Dixon on drums) have been together 30 years playing festivals, concert halls and jazz clubs throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and New York. Some of the venues include 54 Below in New York City, Disney World in Florida, the Playboy Jazz Festival Pasadena, the Long Beach Jazz Festival, the Yuma, Arizona Jazz Series, the Irvine Barclay Theatre and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts (with the Pacific Symphony) in Costa Mesa, CA. They have recorded five CDs and one DVD to date receiving airplay around the world, and reaching Top 10 status on KAWC Radio in Arizona. Original compositions from the Trio's discs were used in the motion picture "Sam and Janet" starring Gary Busey. The Trio was voted Best Jazz Group in Orange County, CA by readers of the OC Weekly in 1996, and was nominated for Best Jazz Group in Orange County in 2012 by the Orange County Music Awards. In 2005, Ron was awarded "Role Model and Inspiration for Asian Americans in the Field of Music" by the Orange County Asian Business Association.
Ron has been a music educator for more than 30 years. He currently teaches at the Orange County High School of the Arts, Biola University and Vanguard University, as well as privately. Ron has been a clinician at numerous Jazz festivals and presents regular lectures on Jazz at public libraries and museums throughout Southern California.
Photo courtesy Bettie Miner
Press Reviews
The Ron Kobayashi Trio’s Compact Disc, “No Preservatives” (Carpet Cat Records) was described as "a five star session from three of the Southland’s finest " by the L.A. Jazz Scene. The Orange County Register wrote “If you define jazz, at least partly, as spontaneity, emotional expression and communication among musicians, you won’t find anything better than “No Preservatives.” The Los Angeles Times said Kobayashi's compositions "demand attention and get it," and called the trio "superb Jazz stylists."
Cover story on Ron Kobayashi in the
Orange County Register on Dec. 5, 1999
Featured story in Orange County Register Newspaper April 13, 2008