About Me:
Treat yourself to the gift of music! Each student is a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. By cultivating the love of music, joy of creativity and increased self-esteem through encouragement, inspiration and varied teaching tools your talents and creative potential will develop and manifest. Excellence is promoted, knowing that each person's best may be very different from another's, while having fun!

Styles:
Rock, Blues, Jazz, Funk, Classical, Gospel, Pop, R&B, Latin

Subjects:
Harmony, Theory, Ear Training, Songwriting, Arranging, Orchestration, Jazz Music History, Classical Music History

Ages:
Elementary School, Pre-teen, Teenage, Adult

Availability:
Private Teaching Studio - Upper West Side.

Major Influences:
Mike Longo, Ron Carter, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Chopin, Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Wynton Kelly, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Shirley Scott, Sarah Vaughan, Grant Hinden-Miller, Sting and the Police.

Experience:

• Notables Performed With (NYC): Ron Carter, Phillip Harper, Ben Brown, Thomas Brahmerie, Sean Smith, Curtis Boyd, Steve Johns, Frank Gant, Bruce Cox, Sylvia Cuenca, Eddie Locke, Melissa Slocum and Antoinette Montague. [1991 - Present]
• Performances/Sessions (NYC): Birdland Jazz Club, Lenox Lounge Jazz Club, MOMA, Cleopatra's Needle Jazz Club, St. Nick's Pub Jazz Club, Big Apple Jazz/EZ's Woodshed Jazz Club, Gilliard Jazz Cafe, Aaron Davis Hall, 92nd Street Y, Baha'i Center, 55 Bar, Augie's Jazz Club, Lounge Ritsu Jazz Club, Yardbird Suite Jazz Club, Gishen Cafe Jazz Club, Londella's, Yvonne's, Mo Bay, Watercolor Cafe, The 420 Club, Talk Of The Town, Central Park South, Cameos, The Universalist Church, Riverdale Manor, Favia, Independence Community Bank, Richmond County Country Club, Northern Manhattan Nursing Home, Uptown Renaissance Jazz, Ethical Culture Society, Cafe Lou's, The News Room, Alger Mansion, Duplex, Kit Mc Clure Big Band, AFS Benefit, HAI, Fields Mansion, FEGS, Bethune Senior Center, American Guitar Institute, The Works, 125 Mart and Private Parties. [1991 - Present]
• Private Teaching Studio (Upper West Side - NYC): Student's Ages: 5-75 Years, Taught Classical Piano, Jazz Piano, Music Theory, Jazz Harmony, Voice Leading, Sight-Reading, Improvisation, Ear Training, Drumming, and Classical and Jazz Music History. [1992 - Present]
• Parkside School (NYC): Taught Private Piano Lessons, was the Accompanist and Assistant Teacher in the Music Dept. at this school whose students had learning and emotional difficulties. [2002 - 2003]
  
  Bronx Park East School (NYC): Taught Group Piano Classes, Private Piano Lessons and Music Theory. [2002 - 2003]
  
  The Music Stop (NYC): Taught Group Piano/Organ Classes and Theory; beginner, intermediate and advanced. [2002 - 2003]
• NYC Performance: Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center [1984 - 1985]
• TV Appearances: Jazz Perspectives (NYC) 1995 and First Exposure (NYC) 1994
  
  Musical Theater: Fiddler On The Roof (NYC) 1987 and Sound Of Music (Equity Tour 1978)

Education:

• BFA in Jazz Piano Performance (BFA ), City College [1996]

Studied With:

• Mike Longo (World Reknown Jazz Pianist- Dizzy Gillespie's Pianist and Musical Director) [1987 - 2008]
• Ron Carter (World Reknown Jazz Bassist- Miles Davis's Bassist among countless others) [1992 - 1996]
• David Del Tredici (Composer) [1995]

Recent Performances:

• 92nd ST Y [November, 2008]
• Baha'i Center [October, 2008]
• Doral Arrowood [June, 2008]
• Opus II - Photography Exhibit - Ossining Library [February, 2008]
• Baha'i Center [January, 2008]
• Lenox Lounge [December, 2007]

Discography:

• Gwen W. and Benjamin Brown Duo - "Swingin' Souls" [2008]
• Gwen W. Quartet - "Veteran's Day Tribute" [2006]
• Quadrupling Swing - "Live at Londell's" [2004]