Ted Rosenthal Trio

Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianists of his generation. The first-prize winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 1988, Ted has gone on to perform worldwide, both as a leader and as a sideman with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and Jon Faddis. Ted also has released eleven CDs as a leader, which include new treatments and "derangements" of great American standards, jazz tunes and classical themes, as well as his original compositions. Teds ability to communicate both the creative and analytical aspects of jazz translates from the bandstand to the educational arena: he holds faculty appointments at The Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music, and has also taught at Queens College, and The New School University.Ted was born and raised in Great Neck, Long Island, a suburb of New York City. He began playing by ear at a young age, and started studying at 12 with Tony Aless, a sideman with Charlie Parker and Stan Getz. In high school, Ted studied briefly with Jaki Byard and Lennie Tristano, and he attended workshops with Billy Taylor, Woody Shaw and others.Although jazz was Teds main passion, at the time there were limited opportunities to study jazz at the conservatory level. Since he also found satisfaction and joy in classical music, Ted decided to pursue classical piano studies at Manhattan School of Music. He received Bachelors and Masters Degrees in piano performance while continuing to pursue his love of jazz outside the classroom. After college, he continued his classical piano studies with Phillip Kawin while playing jazz in and around New York.Winning the Monk Competition in 1988 launched Teds career as a solo artist, leading to the release of his first CD as a leader. New Tunes, New Traditions, featuring now-legendary personnel Ron Carter, Billy Higgins and Tom Harrell, interweaves music of Thelonious Monk with Teds original compositions.Ted toured in the early 1990s with the last Gerry Mulligan Quartet. He recorded three CDs with Mulligan and performed in major jazz festivals throughout the world. One critic noted, The rapport of the (Mulligan) group was amazing, particularly Gerrys telepathic communication with outstanding pianist Ted Rosenthal.... The byplay with Rosenthal left me with my jaw hanging down. (Gene Lees, The Jazz Letter.) After Mulligan's death, Ted became musical director of The Gerry Mulligan All Star Tribute Band, featuring Lee Konitz, Bob Brookmeyer and Randy Brecker. The groups CD, Thank You, Gerry!, was nominated for a Grammy award in 1998.As a busy sideman, Ted has performed in small groups led by Art Farmer, Jon Faddis, Phil Woods, Wycliffe Gordon and Jay Leonhart. He has also performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Rosenthal is the pianist of choice for many top jazz vocalists including Helen Merrill, Mark Murphy and Ann Hampton Callaway.Teds CDs as a leader showcase both his creative approach to standards and classics as well as his original compositions. His latest CD, My Funny Valentine (2008), is an instrumental tribute (with George Mraz - bass, Al Foster - drums) to vocalist Helen Merrill, with whom Ted has performed with for more than a decade. The King and I (2006), features Rosenthal's jazz takes (with George Mraz - bass, Lewis Nash - drums) on songs from the classic musical. One Night in Vermont (2004), a duo performance with legendary trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, explores great American standards in an unusually inventive and improvisatory style. All About Jazz calls this CD "a stunning album complete with all of jazz's beloved nuances&. All those stirring moments remind you of why you need it in your life."Both Expressions, a quintet date, and ThreePlay, a trio outing featuring Dennis Irwin and Matt Wilson, explore Rosenthal originals and jazz standards with an invigorating and free spirited approach. Ted pays homage to jazz pianist-composers on Rosenthology (Concord Jazz 1996), with Michael Formanek and Billy Drummond: Listen to the way Rosenthal slithers and crawls into Lennie Tristanos Wow, and you just may mouth the songs title! (Larry Blumenfeld, Jazziz). Images of Monk enlists the robust sound of a sextet to accentuate Teds inventive arrangements of Monk compositions. "Surely Monk would have dug this playfulness more than the literalism of his imitators." (Robert L. Doerschuk, Keyboard Magazine)For Ted, jazz piano encompasses a full range of jazzs history and expression. Teds most recent solo piano CD, The 3 Bs, which received a 4-star review in Down Beat Magazine, features solo renditions of the music of Bud Powell, Bill Evans and original improvisations on Beethoven themes. With this subtly provocative solo recital, Ted Rosenthal merges three very different streams of piano history, putting his personal stamp on all of them. 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). About Teds first solo piano CD, Ted Rosenthal Live at Maybeck Hall, Richard Palmer of Jazz Journal wrote, I am particularly taken with his lovingly historical grasp of jazz pianos panoply&. One of the best Maybecks Ive heard.Ted regularly performs in jazz piano concerts, including at the 92nd Street Y with Bill Charlap and Dick Hyman. At the 2003 JVC Jazz Festival, Ted performed in, and co-produced with George Wein, Piano Starts Here, also featuring Kenny Barron, Cedar Walton, and others. Ted has also appeared on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio and on NBCs Night Music with David Sanborn.A recipient of three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Ted composes large-scale works as well as jazz tunes. The Survivor, a concerto for piano and orchestra that combines written and improvised sections for the soloist, has been performed by Ted with the Rockland Symphony and with the Manhattan Jazz Philharmonic. Ted often adds improvisations to his performances of Gershwin's works for piano and orchestra, adding an extra dimension of vitality and spontaneity to the music.Teds classical/jazz crossover performances include solo and featured appearances with The Boston Pops, The Baltimore Symphony, The Kansas City Symphony, The Rochester Philharmonic, The Indianapolis Symphony, The Tucson Symphony, The Detroit Symphony, The Houston Symphony, and The Greater Palm Beach Symphony.Teds latest work includes Jazzing up the Classics, adapting themes by Brahms, Schumann, Tchaikovsky and others into a mainstream jazz idiom. In addition he has been active as a composer, most recently writing/performing works for Chamber Jazz Ensemble, and collaborating with choreographer Nilas Martins in music for Jazz Ensemble with dancers.Ted is active in jazz education. He presents jazz clinics throughout the world, often in association with his touring. He is currently a faculty member at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. He was a contributing editor for Piano and Keyboard magazine and has published piano arrangements and feature articles for Piano Today and The Piano Stylist.Ted lives in Manhattan and Scarsdale, NY, with his wife, Lesley (Vice President and General Counsel of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), and two stepsons, Aron and David Szanto.Weblinks:www.tedrosenthal.com <br /><br />Bassist and composer Martin Wind was born in Flensburg, Germany in 1968 and moved to New York in 1996 to study at New York University (NYU) with a scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service.In 1995 he earned himself a diploma as Orchestra Musician at the Music Conservatory in Cologne, Germany while studying with Prof. Wolfgang Guettler, former bassist with the Berlin Philharmonics.In 1998 he earned his Masters degree in Jazz Performance and Composition studying with Mike Richmond, Jim McNeely, Tom Boras, Mike Holober and Kenny Werner.Since his move to New York Martin has become a regular at all major jazz clubs and is also in demand as a session player; his credits include movies such as The Alamo, Intolerable Cruelty, Mona Lisa Smiles and Fur. * In 1995 Martin came in third at the International Thelonious Monk Bass Competition in Washington, D.C. * In 1996 Martin Wind won the first Cognac Hennessy/Blue Note Jazz Search in Germany with his trio Dreikland and got to record an album for Blue Note Records. * In 2000 he was the first Jazz musician to win the Cultural Award of his home state Schleswig-Holstein.Martin has released about 10 albums so far as leader/co-leader including his debut album Gone with the Wind (1993), Tender Waves (1996), Dreiklang(1997), Family (1999), and The Soccerball (2002).Currently Martin is member of the trios of Bill Mays, Dena DeRose, Don Friedman, James Gordon Williams and Russ Kassoff.He also appears frequently with Matt Wilsons Quartet and Arts and Crafts, and Bill Goodwins Orntette.With Bill Mays, Martin has been playing for more than a dozen years and theyve released many albums together, notably Bills three recordings for the Palmetto Label. Martin Wind has recorded and/or performed with the following artists: Guidon Kremer, Christoph Eschenbach, Mstislav Rostopowitch, Lalo Schifrin, Monty Alexander, Pat Metheny, Clark Terry, Mark Murphy, Slide Hampton, Toots Thielemans, Jim McNeely, Buddy DeFranco, The Metropole Orchestra, Radio Big Bands Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Eddie Daniels, Curtis Fuller, Phil Woods, Bud Shank, Johnny Griffin, Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Stern, Terell Stafford, Larry Goldings, Village Vanguard Orchestra and others.Martin Wind has been on the faculty at New York University for close to 10 years and is also a faculty member at the National Youth Jazz Orchestra Germany and at the Neuburg Summer Jazz Camp.In 2005 Martin was commissioned to write the music for an American Place Theatre production of Tim OBriens novel The things they carried.Weblinks:www.martinwind.com <br /><br />QUINCY DAVIS, born in Grand Rapids, MI, comes from a very musical family. He began taking piano and drum lessons at age 6 and often would play with his brother Xavier Davis (piano) in their basement. In his elementary and middle school bands, he also played trumpet and tuba. Both of his parents are musicians who exposed him to all different styles of music including instrumental jazz, vocal jazz, European classical, gospel, opera, R&B and jazz fusion. <br>His formal musical studies began during his 11th grade year at Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA). There he studied classical percussion as well as trap-set drumming. IAA is where he received his first experience playing with a jazz band. IAA proved to be an important contribution to Davis’ future successes. <br>In 1995, Davis graduated from IAA and began college at Western Michigan University. There he studied with drum master, Billy Hart. Along with learning more about the drums, Mr. Hart instilled in Davis a deep knowledge of music, which has proven to be very important to his career. During these collegiate years, Davis played at various collegiate jazz festivals where notable musicians like Benny Green, Bunky Green, Jon Faddis, Roy Haynes, Carl Allen, Louis Hayes, and Wallace Roney heard and recognized Davis’ talents with written accolades and awards. <br>After graduating in 1999, Davis taught elementary and middle school instrumental music in the Grand Rapids area for one year before moving to New York City. <br>In the summer of 2000, Davis moved to New York City. He quickly became one of the sought after “young cats” on the New York jazz scene. In New York, Davis played with many great musicians such as Frank Wess, Ernestine Anderson, Cecil McLorin-Salvant, Russell Malone, Eric Reed, Paquito D'Rivera, Kurt Elling, Christian McBride, Buster Williams, Eric Alexander, Leslie Odom Jr., Seamus Blake, Vanessa, Rubin, Aaron Goldberg, Jon Faddis, Jimmy Heath, Gerald Clayton, The Clayton Brothers, Peter Bernstein, Jimmy Heath, David Hazeltine, Roy Hargrove, Randy Johnston, Bob Sheppard, Paula West, Houston Person, Curtis Fuller, New York Voices, The Mingus Orchestra, Ryan Kisor and Wessell Anderson. Davis continues to play with many of these great artists. <br>In 2010, Davis accepted a teaching position at the University of Manitoba (Canada) where he was the Assistant-Professor of jazz drumset studies. Though performing has been a major part of his life, he has also always enjoyed teaching and sharing his musical experiences with young and talented students. The University of Manitoba proved to be the perfect fit for this highly respected performer and educator. <br>In 2014, Quincy released his debut recording as a leader Songs In the Key of Q, which in just its third week of being released, quickly rose to the top 5 albums on Jazz Week’s jazz chart. The following week Songs In the Key of Q rose to #1 where it stayed for 2 weeks. <br>After seven years teaching at the University of Manitoba, Davis began teaching at the highly regarded University of North Texas as the Assistant-Professor of jazz drumset. <br>Quincy can be heard on over 50 albums playing with many notable jazz artists including Tom Harrell, Gretchen Parlato, Bobby Watson, Benny Golson, Ted Rosenthal, Marcus Printup, Dave Stryker, Walt Weiskopf, Stefon Harris, Benny Green, Aaron Diehl, Frank Wess, Bobby Watson, Xavier Davis, Danny Grissett, Vincent Gardner, Frank Wess, Darmon Meader, Sachal Vasandani and many more. <br>Davis continues to stay very active as a performer while teaching full time at the University of North Texas.