Roger Kellaway

Who is Roger Kellaway?

Roger Kellaway is an American composer, arranger, and pianist.

Born in Waban, Massachusetts, he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory. Kellaway has composed commissioned works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and jazz big band, as well as for film, TV, ballet and stage productions. One of his early mentors, the late Phil Saltman, was his piano teacher and ran a summer music camp called ENCORE in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

As a pianist, Kellaway has performed and recorded with a wide range of prominent musicians, such as Lena Horne, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Joni Mitchell, Natalie Cole, Yo-Yo Ma, Quincy Jones, Caterina Valente, Oliver Nelson, Thad Jones, Melanie, Joe Beck, Henry Mancini, clarinetist Eddie Daniels, jazz bassist Red Mitchell, and violinist Yue Deng. Kellaway is perhaps best known for his Cello Quartet recordings in the 1970s.

In 1964 Kellaway recorded Happiness for Impulse! with The Russian Jazz Quartet, a group also featuring Grady Tate, Igor Berukshtis, George Ricci and Boris Midney, the arranger for USA European Connection.