Louis Durra -
Louis is a jazz pianist and composer based in Los Angeles, CA. He plays concerts and clubs with his trio and freelances with other jazz artists. He also works as a classical accompanist and harpsichordist and as a musical director for theater.
Fascinated with music as a toddler, he largely taught himself to read from the labels of his parent’s LPs. He listened to the Beethoven symphonies over and over as a child. Other favorites were the Borodin Polyvetsian dances and Debussy’s La Mer. Big band jazz was frequently played in the house.
Louis studied with several inspirational teachers. Living in London at age eleven during a year abroad, Louis studied with Melanie Daiken of the Royal Academy Of Music. While in France that summer, he continued studying theory and piano through correspondence with Ms. Daiken. At age twelve Louis entered the San Francisco Conservatory of Music prep department, studying theory, harmony and piano with John McCarthy and Maria Cisyk.
During his teens Louis participated in jazz festivals and competitions for young musicians. He played in amateur and professional jazz and variety groups, worked as a classical accompanist, and began collaborating with theater director Ed Decker, music-directing eight musicals by the age of eighteen.
Louis attended the Berklee College Of Music in Boston, MA. He studied jazz piano with Jeff Covell and Bob Winter, classical piano with Stephanie Plsek, and arranging and composition with Herb Pomeroy, Greg Hopkins and Ken Pullig. During college, he played jazz in the Boston area and toured with pop and R&B bands. Moving to Los Angeles after college, Louis played and toured with R&B bands and with lounge singer John Prophetta. He worked at Dick Grove School of Music in a recording band playing the student compositions.
Louis met folk artist Moris Tepper, famous for his long association with Captain Beefheart and his work with Tom Waits. Louis toured and recorded with Moris for six years.
Louis composed for experimental theater projects which were staged in Iceland, at the Fringe Festival in Scotland and at the Mark Taper Forum.
Louis and Jerry Kalaf were hired together on a long-running club gig and have played and recorded each other's jazz ever since. Jerry became music director of the dance company Jazz Tap Ensemble, and Louis has played with JTE in many venues over the years.
During his 30’s, Louis also began working in film music. He composed for CBS's The Guiding Light, scored documentaries, independent films, had his music used in network MOWs and cable series. While he was a staff composer for Guiding Light, the show was nominated for a daytime Emmy for music.
In the early 90s he took a detour to train as a sound editor with Mark Allen at the Id Group. He edited sound effects for 26 features.
Louis has immersed himself in the jazz repertoire, performing the standards and his own music in jazz trio format. He studied classical piano with Delores Stevens for three years and works as an accompanist.