About this Artist

ALAN BROADBENT was born in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1969 he was asked to join Woody Herman’s band and toured with him for three years. During that time he wrote some music for a performance with Woody and the Houston Symphony, one of which is called The Children of Lima – featured tonight as part of his opening set with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In 1972 he settled in L.A.. Soon he was also invited into the studio scene as a pianist for the great Nelson Riddle and David Rose. In the early ’90s he was asked to be a part of Natalie Cole's famous Unforgettable CD, at which time he toured as her pianist and, a little while later, as her conductor. At this time he wrote an orchestral arrangement for her second video with her dad, “When I Fall In Love,” which won him his first Grammy for “best orchestral arrangement accompanying a vocal.” Shortly after, he became a member of Charlie Haden’s Quartet West, touring the festivals of Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. It was while with this group that he won his second Grammy, an orchestral accompaniment written for Shirley Horn on Leonard Bernstein’s Lonely Town. Also around this time, he met the remarkable young pianist Diana Krall, who had come to L.A. on a Canadian grant to study with pianist Jimmy Rowles.

As his own man, Broadbent has been nominated for Grammys twice for Best Instrumental Performance, in the company of such artists as Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, and Keith Jarrett. In 2007 he was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit.

In 2011 he moved with his wife Alison and son Asher to Nyack, about 30 minutes north of NYC on the Hudson River. It has been his lifelong goal, through his orchestral arrangements and jazz improvisations, to discover, in popular music and standard songs, deeper feelings of communication and love.