Kenny Werner was born November 19, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Oceanside, Long Island. He first recorded on television at age eleven, and though he studied classical piano as a child, he enjoyed playing anything he heard on the radio. In 1981 he started his own trio with drummer Tom Rainey and bassist Ratzo Harris, a group that matured over fourteen years and recorded four albums.

In the mid-1980s Werner became pianist for the Mel Lewis Orchestra, now known as the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Challenged by Mel Lewis and Bob Brookmeyer to write for the band, he produced his first compositions and arrangements for jazz orchestra, leading him to write for major bands throughout Europe. In 2000 he formed a new trio with Ari Hoenig on drums and Johannes Weidenmueller on bass, playing together for nearly a decade and releasing three albums. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, one of his strongest musical alliances was with saxophonist Joe Lovano, with whom he recorded several albums.

Werner was awarded the 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship for his seminal work No Beginning No End. His first jazz recording, in 1977, featured piano solos of Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and George Gershwin compositions. His catalog includes Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Vol. 34, Concord Duo Series, Vol. 10, Live at Visiones, and 1998's A Delicate Balance and Unprotected Music.

Werner's long tenure with the Mel Lewis/Village Vanguard Orchestra, combined with his strong alliance with Joe Lovano and his Guggenheim-winning work as a composer, established him as one of the most significant post-bop pianist-composers of his generation, equally at home leading his own trios and writing for big band.