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Wednesday, April 02, 2025

Pianist/Composer to release "High Standards," the first of four distinct new albums over the next year #jazz #music


Pianist/Composer Ted Rosenthal to release "High Standards,"

the first of four distinct new albums over the next year,

"Trio in 4 Acts"

(TMR Music)


Ted Rosenthal - Piano

Martin Wind / Noriko Ueda - Bass

Tim Horner / Quincy Davis - Drums


Release Date: March 21st, 2025


Video: Ted Rosenthal Trio: Rhapsody in Jazz, George Gershwin Birthday Celebration September 26th, 2024 - Birdland - NYC

"Rosenthal is a pianist of rarest skill, weaving rapid single note lines that span out into rich chordal patterns, parallel octaves

and hints of the blues" - Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times


“There aren't many modern jazz pianists more dexterous than

Mr. Rosenthal.” - Nate Chinen, New York Times


“A musician's musician who balances technique and taste.” 

The New Yorker

About the Recording


Trios in 4 Acts is a collection of 4 releases with my 2 working trios, all recorded in the summer of 2024. This first release, "High Standards" is a collection of standards I've been performing over the last few years. I love taking familiar music and finding new and creative ways to arrange and present it. The mix of the familiar with the surprising and unexpected is a great combination and fits the jazz improvisational spirit.  


These standards come from different eras. Lover Man and Skylark are classic standards that are always worth revisiting. Everything Happens to Me and It Could Happen to You are two I love to play and make a good pairing with their evocative titles! Standards from the later Broadway period are less often played in jazz, but I loved arranging and "working out" on Jet Song, Old Devil Moon, To Life, and One. These arrangements all have rhythmic twists and turns that continue to sound fresh and keep us on our toes. The Cup Bearers concludes the set - a jazz standard played by many of my jazz piano heroes.


I can't say enough about my trio partners, Martin, Tim, Noriko and Quincy. They all bring their sensitivity, support, virtuosity and swing to add many dimensions to the music. They are wonderful musical partners!


- Ted Rosenthal, January, 2025, New York

About Ted Rosenthal


Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianist/composers of his generation.  He actively tours worldwide with his trio, as a soloist, and has performed with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and James Moody.


Winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, Rosenthal has released fifteen CDs as a leader. Rhapsody in Gershwin, which features his arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue for jazz trio, reached #1 in jazz album sales at iTunes and Amazon. Wonderland, was selected as a New York Times holiday pick, and received much critical praise: “Sleek, chic and elegant” – Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune.  Impromptu, showcases his reimaginings of classical themes for jazz trio.  "A serious listen to Impromptu will be a mind-changing experience...sit back and enjoy these wonderfully creative takes on ten compositions from the classical canon that have never sounded so cool."  - Elliott Simon, AllAboutJazz


Rosenthal’s solo album, The 3 B's, received 4 stars from DownBeat magazine.  It features music of Bud Powell, Bill Evans and his improvisations on Beethoven themes.  “In Rosenthal's hands all this music sounds as though it sprang from the same muse, and that's the sign of a skilled, imaginative artist.”  - David R. Adler, All Music Guide.  


A recipient of three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Rosenthal regularly performs and records his compositions, which include jazz tunes and large-scale works. Rosenthal’s jazz opera, “Dear Erich,” was commissioned and premiered by New York City Opera in 2019. “Dear Erich” attracted much press and critical acclaim: "Compelling...tells a true, wrenching story. Rosenthal's score conveys regret and fragility, with scenes that invite real breakout jazz" – A. Tomassini, New York Times.  "Leaves the listener ready to explode with applause" - D. Salazar, Opera Wire. Since the premiere, Rosenthal has presented more than a dozen concert performances of "Dear Erich," both in the US and Europe.


Rosenthal has also been commissioned by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre. "The Survivor," his concerto for piano and orchestra, has been performed by the Manhattan Jazz Philharmonic and the Rockland Symphony Orchestra, with Rosenthal at the piano. Rosenthal premiered his second jazz piano concerto, “Jazz Fantasy,” with The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony.


Rosenthal was artistic director of Jazz at the Riverdale Y and Jazz at Dicapo Theatre, both in New York City.  He has also performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Jon Faddis and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band.  In addition, Rosenthal has been the pianist of choice for many top jazz vocalists including Helen Merrill, Ann Hampton Callaway, Kurt Elling and Barbara Cook.  He appeared on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio and performed with David Sanborn on NBC's Night Music.


Rosenthal's orchestral performances include solo and featured appearances with The Detroit Symphony, The Phoenix Symphony The Boston Pops, The Grand Rapids Symphony, The Rochester Philharmonic, The Pittsburgh Symphony and The Fort Worth Symphony. Rosenthal performed Gershwin's Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue for the opening concert of the 92nd Street Y's 2015-16 season. The New York Times called his playing "notable both for its flair and languid, sultry expressive gestures." In 2014 Rosenthal performed Rhapsody in Blue at Town Hall in a concert celebrating the 90th anniversary of its premiere and gave many performances of Rhapsody in 2024 celebrating the 100th anniversary.


Rosenthal received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. Active in jazz education, he is on the faculties of The Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music, where he also served on their Board of Trustees and received the Presidential Medal for Distinguished Faculty Service. Rosenthal has taught and mentored many of the leading jazz pianists of the younger generation. He presents jazz clinics throughout the world, often in conjunction with his touring.   He was a contributing editor for Piano and Keyboard magazine and has published piano arrangements and feature articles for Piano Today, The Piano Stylist and The Juilliard Journal. Ted Rosenthal is a Steinway Artist. His website is www.tedrosenthal.com



Ted Rosenthal Website

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Monday, March 31, 2025

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - March 31, 2025 #jazz #music

Smooth Jazz Chart 
This chart from smoothjazz.com generally updates every Monday. 
This post will be repeated with the most recent link when it updates. 






Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Nathan & Noah East to Release New Project “Father & Son” on April 18th #jazz #music

FATHER & SON / NATHAN AND NOAH EAST

Internationally Renowned Legendary Bassist & Rising Star Pianist Son Release Stunning Debut Recording

With special friends Eric Clapton, Hubert Laws. Merry Clayton, Seiko Matsuda, Billy Valentine, Jack Lee, Greg Phillinganes and more

Set to Perform April 29 at San Diego Music Awards/Nathan East to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

­(March 25, 2025) With inspiring originals and beautifully re-imagined classics, FATHER & SON, the forthcoming debut collaboration by legendary bassist Nathan East and his wunderkind 24 year old pianist/organist son Noah is set for release April 18, 2025. The album which captures the intimacy of the jazz duo and trio format, infused with the powerful spirit of rhythm & blues was recorded at the legendary EastWest Studios in Los Angeles by GRAMMY®-winning engineer and producer Moogie Canazio. Guest artists appearing with Nathan and Noah are some of their famous friends and collaborators including Eric Clapton (with whom Nathan has toured for over four decades), famed flautist Hubert Laws, vocalists Merry Clayton and Billy Valentine and many more.

With the release of FATHER & SON, Nathan and Noah showcase their rich interplay and chemistry and join an illustrious group of many famous musician fathers and their sons across all genres of music, including Ringo and Jake Starkey, Bob and Jakob Dylan, Joshua and Dewey Redmond, the Marsalis family, and Bob & Ziggy Marley, among many others. Nathan brings his signature grooves, fluid runs and deep musicality to the project. For Noah, this is a powerful introduction to the jazz world, highlighting his soulful touch on piano and masterful command of the Hammond B3. Together they create a sound that is heartfelt and electrifying.

Nathan East stated: “As a father, you try to lead by example. Noah showed extraordinary talent from an early age and it’s been a joy to watch him grow into a sought-after artist in his own right. I couldn’t be more proud of the musician and person he has become, and this album is truly a dream come true.”

Noah East stated: ““Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to witness my dad’s career up close. Growing up around so many different amazing musicians has provided me with a rich musical background, which has immensely shaped my playing. Recording this album together is an experience I will cherish forever.”

East West Media


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Monday, March 24, 2025

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - March 24, 2025 #jazz #music

Smooth Jazz Chart 
This chart from smoothjazz.com generally updates every Monday. 
This post will be repeated with the most recent link when it updates. 






Friday, March 21, 2025

Soul/Jazz saxophonist Walter Beasley pays homage to his roots on "Tribute to Soul" #jazz #music


“Coming” in hot! Soul/Jazz saxophonist Walter Beasley pays homage to his roots on “Tribute to Soul”

 

“Hold On, I’m Coming,” the latest single from the project, is moving up the charts.

 

Billboard chart-topping saxophonist Walter Beasley was driving across the country after one of his concerts when an idea popped into his head that caused him to delay his trip. He reached out to his recording band who were only a few hours away from his next gig in Cincinnati and booked them to record “Tribute to Soul,” a five-song EP of R&B classics out now on Affable Records.

 

The songs Beasley reimagines on “Tribute to Soul” is the music from his formative years growing up.

 

“I went home to these songs because I was going through a lot of stuff at the time. This music helped shape my musicianship. I learned and was well schooled in classical music, and I remember asking, ‘What’s next?’ For me, that was going back to the beginning - go back to blues, go home to soul, go back to the music that I know and that moves me. There’s no point in me saying a whole bunch of stuff musically that doesn’t matter. What matters is the song, the music, the message. That’s what I’ve always tried to do in my career and that’s what this record is about,” said Beasley, who played soprano and alto sax and sang on the EP.

 

Beasley gathered his “cats” – guitarist Michael O’Hara, bassist Derek Doc Johnson, keyboardist Robert Johnson, percussionist Chase Williams, and drummer Ben Powers – in the studio and they played through the setlist. What you hear on the EP are first takes.

 

“The idea was to make some timeless music with the cats you know give you nothing but funk, soul, and the real, and that’s what happened. The energy is there; the mistakes are there. If the groove is there and people are bopping, leave it alone,” said Beasley, who added that the seed for the EP was planted while watching a documentary film on the seminal Stax Records label.

  

Motown was sophisticated soul. Stax was something different. It had that edge, that stank on it. That is what I gravitated towards as a musician,” said the El Centro, California native who has been based in Boston since attending Berklee College of Music where he has served as a professor for more than thirty years.

 

“Tribute to Soul” opens with “Hold On, I’m Coming,” the latest single presently climbing the charts that is an instrumental remake of the storming Sam & Dave hit from 1966.

 

Beasley’s faithful version of “Green Onions” retains all the groovy cool of the Booker T. & the M.G.’s 1962 original.

 

“It’s got a soulful Delta blues vibe and a shuffling kind of thing going on. You’d better be in the pocket because if you’re not, we’re gonna leave you behind. ‘Green Onions’ is the epitome of that. By the time the organ comes in, it’s over,” said Beasley defiantly.   

 

Vocalist Destiny Whited joins the fray on “Ballero,” a reboot of War’s 1974 joint mixing Latin rhythms and R&B grooves. 

 

“The song is a cross between Latin music and R&B. That Brown and Black music was just together. ‘Ballero’ is like going home and saying thank you, not just to the Black community, but to the Brown community that helped raise me. It’s pure feeling. When people put their heads together in diverse cultures and just share out of love, you get a song like ‘Ballero,’” Beasley said.

 

Beasley reminds us that he is an expressive crooner on “Come Live With Me,” which was the first single released last fall to tease the EP’s release. It is his interpretation of the romantic ballad recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1975. 

 

“His (Hayes) version is absolutely perfect. I didn’t know the full meaning of the song until I got older. This is probably my favorite vocal performance from me because of the way I feel about Isaac Hayes. I wanted to do justice to the song, but I also wanted to do justice as it relates to the lyrics, which are very personal. I wanted to deliver it in the best possible way,” said Beasley, who also plays a sultry saxophone solo mid-tune that conveys longing.

 

“While recording, I had better saxophone solos for the song, but they took my mind away from the piece, so I did a solo that was reflective of what the song was speaking to me, and I dipped it back into the message. I love the song and I’m incredibly grateful for my presentation.”

 

The set closes with a revamp of Herbie Mann’s 1969 “Memphis Underground,” a backyard party jam that Beasley describes as being about watching your uncle and aunt getting up and dancing at a fun family barbecue.

 

“This song is our tribute to the musicians of that era,” Beasley concluded.

 

Over the last three decades, Beasley has been a fixture on the Billboard top 20 contemporary jazz charts and landed three number one singles. Debuting in 1987 with a self-titled album, Beasley is a two-time Boston Music Awards winner, having been named Outstanding Jazz Artist and winning the Jazz Album of the Year for his 2003 release, “Go with the Flow.” Beasley’s present focus is honoring the music, the artists, and the epoch celebrated on “Tribute to Soul.”

             

“This EP reflects community, things we were going through as a people. It feels good and this is the best feeling project I’ve ever done.”

 

Beasley’s “Tribute to Soul” EP contains the following songs:

 

“Hold On, I’m Coming”

“Green Onions”

“Ballero”

“Come Live With Me”

“Memphis Underground”

 

 

For more information, visit https://www.walterbeasley.com.



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Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Jazz great Herbie Hancock on playing with Miles Davis, AI, and why the piano makes him cry #jazz #music


Herbie Hancock is an all-time jazz great, so it is reassuring to hear that he suffers from the same modern day procrastination problems as the rest of us mere mortals.

"I fall into rabbit holes on YouTube. A lot of them. New music writing software, things about health, tech things."

That is his explanation as to why he has not made an album for 15 years.

"I get victimised by it, so to speak, but that's life," he chuckles.

Speaking from his house in west Hollywood, the ridiculously sprightly 84-year-old pianist has never been afraid to embrace technology, but normally he is the one doing the mastering, not vice versa.





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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - March 17, 2025 #jazz #music

Smooth Jazz Chart 
This chart from smoothjazz.com generally updates every Monday. 
This post will be repeated with the most recent link when it updates.