0
Bradley Joseph
Bradley Joseph
Composer, pianist, keyboardist, arranger, producer, recording artist
1
Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Swedish musician, composer, record producer
2
Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
American singer-songwriter
3
Craig Safan
Craig Safan
American composer of film music
4
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
American jazz pianist and poet
5
Kurt Kaiser
Kurt Kaiser
American singer-songwriter
6
Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson
English experimental music composer and performer
7
Bill Gaither
Bill Gaither
American musician
8
Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
American jazz saxophonist and composer
9
Jon Brion
Jon Brion
American musician
10
Brad Mehldau
Brad Mehldau
American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger
11
Rhett Miller
Rhett Miller
singer
12
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
American jazz pianist
13
Scott Hutchison
Scott Hutchison
Scottish musician
14
Cornelius Cardew
Cornelius Cardew
English composer
15
The Ark
The Ark
Swedish musical group; rock band
16
Bill Evans
Bill Evans
American jazz pianist
17
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
band
18
Flobots
Flobots
band
19
Friedrich Gulda
Friedrich Gulda
Austrian pianist and composer
20
Frightened Rabbit
Frightened Rabbit
Scottish rock band
21
Chick Corea
Chick Corea
American jazz and fusion pianist, keyboardist, and composer
22
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
American songwriter, composer, and singer
23
John Cage
John Cage
American avant-garde composer (1912-1992)
24
Maurice Gibb
Maurice Gibb
English singer and musician
25
Lyle Mays
Lyle Mays
American jazz musician
26
Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
English keyboardist, songwriter, television and radio presenter, and author
27
Richard Carpenter
Richard Carpenter
American pop musician
28
Tony Banks
Tony Banks
British musician and multi-instrumentalist, member of Genesis
29
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple
American singer-songwriter and musician
30
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
American musician
31
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
American jazz singer
32
Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling
American jazz singer and songwriter
33
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
34
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
American jazz pianist and composer
35
Steve Forbert
Steve Forbert
American singer-songwriter
36
John Zorn
John Zorn
American composer, saxophonist and bandleader
37
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
American singer, pianist, and songwriter
38
Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy
American musician
39
Mervyn Warren
Mervyn Warren
American singer
40
Stuart Townend
Stuart Townend
Christian songwriter
41
Craig Taborn
Craig Taborn
American musician
42
Mads Langer
Mads Langer
Danish musician
43
James Bourne
James Bourne
British musician
44
Matthew West
Matthew West
American contemporary Christian musician
45
Walter Gross
Walter Gross
American musician
46
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
American singer, musician, and songwriter
47
Imogen Heap
Imogen Heap
English musician, record producer, and audio engineer
48
Marilyn Crispell
Marilyn Crispell
American pianist
49
Amy Grant
Amy Grant
American musician
50
Clare Fischer
Clare Fischer
American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader
51
Carsie Blanton
Carsie Blanton
American musician
Intro
American composer
Music

Kenneth Peter Medema (born December 7, 1943) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who has been performing in the United States, Canada, and Europe for more than forty years. Some of his best known songs began as live improvisations.

Medema was born almost blind; his eyes only let him tell light from shadow and see outlines of major objects. He began playing the piano when he was five years old, and three years later began taking lessons in classical music through braille music, playing by ear and improvising in different styles.

In 1969, he majored in music therapy at Michigan State University in Lansing, studying both piano and voice. Afterwards he worked as a music therapist in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later at Essex County Hospital in New Jersey.

In 1973, he began performing and recording his own songs while at Essex County Hospital. "I had a bunch of teenagers who were really hurting," he says, "and I started writing songs about their lives. Then I thought, 'Why don't you start writing songs about your Christian life?' So I started doing that, and people really responded."

His lyrics generally provide social commentary on themes such as justice, hunger, poverty, homelessness, and Christian charity as it pertains to them. He has published a total of 26 albums, the first of which he recorded for Word and Shawnee Press, and then went on to found Brier Patch Music in 1985. Through Brier Patch Music, he organizes and schedules his events, as well as publishes his music. The business was named after Brer Rabbit's home in the legendary Uncle Remus stories. "Brer Rabbit lived in a place not comfortable for anyone else," Medema says, "and we decided to follow him there."

Performances regularly include songs improvised both musically and lyrically by accepting audience recommendations, sermon topics, or guest speaker stories as their basis. He performs in national and worldwide (church) congregations, campuses, youth gatherings, and annual assemblies. He lives near San Francisco, California, with his wife Jane. They have been married since 1965 and have two grown children and four grandchildren.