Karen Hammack is a well-respected pianist based in Los Angeles. Her diversity as a player has let her work with such artists as Jackson Browne, Michael McDonald, Bill Frisell, Perla Batalla, Niki Haris, Julie Christensen, Don Was, to name a few. She also stays busy with the finest jazz musicians such as Tierney Sutton, Stephanie Haynes, and Kate McGarry, Larry Koonse, Scott Colley, Jeff Clayton, Bobby Rodriguez and Wycliffe Gordon.
Karen has been playing the piano since the age of 3, and by the time she was 16 she was playing all genres of music in bands with some of LA's finest, including Johnny Guitar Watson and members of Jules Shear's band (Greg Leisz and Richard Stekol). She studied jazz at Orange Coast College and then pursued her education through private studies with such great teachers Terry Trotter and Dick Powell.
Karen is currently teaching privately, as well as being on the faculty of L.A. Music Academy and Musician's Institute. She has also been involved in Bobby Rodriguez' Jazz Adventure, which brings jazz education to students from kindergarten to high school.
Karen is a sought-after studio musician, having recorded with Kate McGarry, Perla Batalla, Julie Christensen, and many others. She has an acclaimed jazz CD with the Karen Hammack/Paul Kreibich Quartet on Rhombus Records, and is currently completing a solo record of her own original compositions and vocal material with a stellar band including Putter Smith, Anne King, Chuck Manning, Richard Stekol, Chris Conner, Kendall Kay, and Edinburgh Jazz Festival, the Ascona Jazz Festival and Royce Hall.