john harold kander (born march 18, 1927) is an american composer. he is best known for his songwriting partnership with fred ebb, also known as kander and ebb. his most famous musicals are "cabaret" and "chicago". kander has won three tony awards, two grammy awards and two emmy awards. he has helped make the music for the movies "cabaret", "new york, new york", "kramer vs. kramer", "places in the heart", "billy bathgate" and "chicago".