Brian Kane is currently a Mellon Post-doctoral Fellow in music at Columbia University. He earned his doctorate in Music Composition from UC Berkeley in 2006, and was a fellow at the Townsend Center for the Humanities. In addition to being an award winning composer he is also highly regarded jazz guitarist.

Kane, born in 1973, was raised in Los Angeles, California. As a youth, Kane taught himself to play the guitar and the saxophone, developing a keen interest in jazz and classical music. During his tenure as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, he began gigging on both instruments, playing at local clubs and venues, while pursuing degrees in Music and Philosophy.

After graduating, Kane pursued a diverse group of interests. In addition to working professionally as a jazz guitarist, Kane also continued to play saxophone, learned clarinet and bass clarinet, and was highly involved in the Bay Area's free improvisation scene. He also began studying composition with Jorge Liderman, and organized his own new music ensemble, The Snooty Chamber Orchestra. In addition, he performed for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in the West Coast premiere of John Cage's final work, Ocean.

In 2000, Kane returned to UC Berkeley as a graduate student in music composition, pursuing his Ph.D. He has written chamber pieces, vocal works, solo pieces, electronic music, and more. Twice the recipient of the De Lorenzo Prize in Music Composition, for his Clarinet Quintet (2003) and Three Sonnets of George Santayana (2001), Kane writes contemporary music that is challenging, reflective, rhythmically charged, and sonically sophisticated. His works are never conventional. Kane often finds compositional inspiration in poetry, philosophy, contemporary art and theory. In addition, he also an avid writer about musical aesthetics, and an advocate for contemporary music. His newest article, entitled That Elusive Elementary Atom of Music, is published in Qui Parle. He is also a dedicated teacher.

As a Fellow at the Townsend Center for the Humanities and as a Post-doctoral Fellow at Columbia University, Kane's work is centered on questions of sound and signification. Engaging with the writings of Pierre Schaeffer and Roger Scruton, Kane's approach toward the philosophy of music tries to move beyond acousmatics towards an aesthetics of aspects. Through looking at the concept of musical material in concrete situations, the work ties together compositional practice, music analysis and philosophy. Specializing in 20th century music, with an emphasis on music composed in the last 50 years, Kane's analytical work brings an interdisciplinary perspective to musical meaning and construction. He has given public lectures on Schoenberg and Kandinsky, the relationship of philosophy and history in the work of Ernst Krenek, the philosophical origins of musique concrete in the writings of Pierre Schaeffer, music and skepticism, issues of art and research, and the changing role of technology across artistic media. Recently, Kane organized the conference Anatomical Aesthetics: Spectral Music and the Photography of Catherine Wagner at the Berkeley Art Museum.

As a guitarist, Kane has performed and recorded with the Frank Jackson Trio, The Jason Myers Trio, The Blue Room Boys, singer Lisa Baney, trumpeter Darren Johnston, and the legendary Hal Stein, as well as leading his own quartet and trio. He has appeared on records with Jay Johnson, Frank Jackson, Rod Sherell, Fatty Boom Boom, Tim Hockenberry, Steven Emerson, Gary David, Christie McCarthy and others. Recently, Kane performed at the 50th Anniversary celebration of Ginsberg's Howl, backing up jazz poet David Meltzer, and a variety of others.

Brian has also recorded and toured with singer/songwriter Victoria Williams and Mark Olson (formerly of the Jayhawks) including performances at Austin's South by Southwest, and The Rocky Mountain Folk Festival. He can be heard on Victoria William's Water to Drink (Atlantic Records) and Sings Some Ol' Songs (Dualtone Records), as well as Mark Olson's My Own Jo Ellen (Hightone records) playing guitar, saxophone, clarinet, accordian, and as an arranger.