Kurt Kaiser

<p><span style=color: rgba(72 98 141 1)>At the age of four or five a young boy made his way to the piano in his Chicago home and picked out a recognizable tune. His German-American parents sensed they had witnessed something special. They would embrace their son's gift for music as God-given and as a responsibility both for them and for him to steward.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(72 98 141 1)>Little did his parents know that Kurt Kaiser (1934-2018) would go on to become one of the most influential church musicians of the modern era. His musicianship especially as a pianist and his Christian commitment took him around the world but never far from the church. When his talent took Kurt and his young family to Waco Texas he stepped onto his largest stage-WORD Music and the emerging Christian recording industry. A commanding presence in this arena Kurt contributed to the shape and direction of what would become Contemporary Christian Music with songs such as Pass It On and Oh How He Loves You and Me which remain icons of a contemporary sound faithful to foundational biblical ecclesial and musical standards.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(72 98 141 1)>Faithfully recounting Kaiser's story using recordings documents from the musician's personal office interviews letters and unpublished sources Terry W. York's </span><em style=color: rgba(72 98 141 1)>Kurt Kaiser: Icon and Conscience of Contemporary Christian Music</em><span style=color: rgba(72 98 141 1)> traces how Kaiser's name and music became markers in the history of church music.</span></p>