American songwriting duo made up of John Kander (b. March 18, 1927, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.) and Fred Ebb (b. April 8, 1928?, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Sept. 11, 2004, New York City), who collaborated for more than 40 years—from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s—to produce scores for many successful musicals and films. Kander composed the music and Ebb supplied the lyrics.

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Kander was born into a musical household. He began studying piano at age six and performed with family and friends during his youth. Kander ultimately received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1951 and a master’s degree from Columbia University (New York) in 1954; both degrees were in music. He worked as a pianist, dance music arranger, and summer-stock musical conductor before joining lyricists James and William Goldman to write the score for the musical A Family Affair (1962).

Ebb developed a love for the city’s theatrical scene at a young age. After receiving an undergraduate degree from New York University in 1955 and a master’s degree in English literature from Columbia University in 1957, he penned nightclub pieces and teamed with Paul Klein and Norman Martin to write songs for the revue From A to Z (1960).

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The duo won their first Tony Award for the score of Cabaret (1966), which also was named best musical of the season. The film version, which contained some new Kander and Ebb tunes, received multiple Academy Awards, including one for Minnelli. The show was revived onstage in 1987. Kander and Ebb received Tony Awards for their scores of Woman of the Year (1981) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993), which also was honoured as best musical.