About Me
Bruce Kurnow, a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota and now a residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, is enjoying a long career in the music business. At age three he began piano lessons and was immediately hooked. As a teenager he discovered a special connection with the harmonica and has remained dedicated to exploring the possibilities of the instrument. He went on to become a music major at the University of Minnesota, primarily a classical school. He studied piano, stringed harp, voice, theory and composition, which have proven to be a solid foundation for his subsequent work, including twenty-five recordings of original compositions and nine others of non-original music. Bruce has been recognized with four Minnesota Music Awards for his harmonica, stringed harp and keyboard work. Since 1971 he has been an active studio musician, playing on hundreds of commercials, albums and film scores.As a performer, Bruce played piano with harmonica master Mojo Buford, who named him "Creeper." In 1971 he went to Los Angeles on vacation and was surprised by the sudden opportunity to tour the United States and Canada with popular country-rock group Mason Proffit, playing 300 cities per year and recording with the group from 1971-1974 (the group reunited in 2003). During that time he was also fortunate to have been invited to perform with Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, two of his all-time favorite musicians. When Mason Proffit disbanded Bruce decided to move back to Minneapolis. He co-founded Passage with guitarist Bobby Schnitzer, his long-time friend and band-mate since junior high school. The group disbanded in 1979 and was followed up by the Doug Maynard Band, based around the original vocalist of Passage. This group leaned more heavily toward traditional blues and R&B and released a vinyl LP titled The Lullaby. In a recent Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll, both groups were honored as two of the seven greatest live Minnesota rock acts of the '70s. Passage was recently inducted into the Minnesota Rock & Country Hall of Fame. Bruce left the Doug Maynard Band in 1980 to pursue a solo career, performing his unique simultaneous combination of stringed harp and harmonica. He was approached after a performance by the co-owner of a small record label, The Musical Experience, and was signed to his first recording contract. The result was an LP titled Mystery, featuring mostly original compositions for harp and harmonica.It was not until 1988, when Bruce signed with Journey Records, that he began a long string of recordings of original music: First Light, Dream Sounds, Quiet Movements, Eagle's Call and Trail of the Wolf. Soon after, Bruce's work came to the attention of Greg Linder, a former music critic for the Twin Cities Reader who became Chief Editor for NorthWord Press, a Wisconsin-based company specializing in nature books and recordings of music and nature sounds. Bruce signed a deal and recorded four records on their label, NorthSound: Earth Rhythms, Mystic Waters, Sky Passage, Nature's Noel, plus the re-release of First Light and a compilation titled Seasons on the Wind. For Lifescapes (Target Stores) he recorded Christmas Harp, Harp/Christmas Instrumental, Relaxing Harp, Peaceful Harp and Relaxing Christmas Harp. For Ross Records he recorded another Christmas Harp collection and Celtic Echoes. In 1994 Bruce and his wife, Karole, formed an independent record label, Switchback Studios, and have released eighteen recordings: Forest Reflections, Mountain Mysteries, Lake Impressions, The Nature of Love, Harmonicaland (his first recording to exclusively feature the harmonica and nominated for solo instrumental album of the year by Just Plain Folks in 2004), Pachelbel's Christmas, Peaceful Piano, Here and Now (original blues and folk featuring vocals, piano and harmonica), Holidays in Harmonicaland, DreamSounds (a 2-disc compilation of material from Quiet Movements and Dream Sounds) Songs of Earth and Sky (a compilation of material from Trail of the Wolf and Eagle's Call), If I Could Fly, Earth Rhythms (re-release with 2 bonus tracks), Mystic Waters (re-release with 3 bonus tracks), Inner Journey, Full Circle (a collaboration of original blues, rock and jazz with guitarist Bobby "Stinger" Schnitzer), Healing Harp and Live in Palm Springs, a duo recording featuring his father Max on stride piano and Bruce on harmonica. Many of Bruce's recordings are available on CD Baby and iTunes.
