Richard Berent - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I'm a piano guy in Los Angeles. My training was in classical, but I always cultivated an improvisatory side as well. Which makes me one of those jack of all trades type players. I write songs- a number of years ago (darn you Stephen Sondheim), my creative world got rocked by my introduction to the works of Mr.S, and got me very interested in the world of musical theatre songwriting. For me, there is no better genre if you've developed an interest in the highest quality merging of musical and storytelling values. I make my living as a free-lance pianist in L.A. Some club work, a day gig at a great acting conservatory as accompanist, musical directing shows, writing charts for singers, writing music for shows when the opportunity presents itself. Most of this is fun, but not all of it really exercises my creative muscles. Hence, my interest in My Space. I'd like to see if anybody out there is interested in taking a listen to some of my improvisations. I don't necessarily have any commercial aspirations for them, though I suppose stranger things have happened. Mostly, I just want to share them, and find some people out there who listen to them and are touched by them.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 31/12/2006
Influences: I am a walking melting pot of musical influences. The classical tradition, from Bach to Bartok(and beyond). The jazz tradition, from top to bottom, especially the piano guys of my youth, like Chic Corea, Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and others. One of these days I'll learn how to swing- I'm working on it, sheesh! I even have some diverse pop influences, though they tend to be from the more thoughtful wing of the genre- people like Joni Mitchell, Sting, Paul Simon, and bands like Steely Dan. The Beatles and Stevie Wonder were the soundtrack of my early days. I am awed and moved by the work of Stephen Sondheim; my introducion to his work after my college days changed the course of my professional life. These days, Light In The Piazza by Adam Guettel is just the most stunning sound world imaginable, to my ears.
Record Label: Unsigned

My Blog

friend

Oct 24 09 is the first one of these improvs I have done as a gift to someone. All the rest have just been a product of me clearing my head and letting my fingers fly. I have no idea whether it sound...
Posted by on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:15:00 GMT

Goldfinger?

The first 2 chords, anyways
Posted by on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:49:00 GMT

facebook

seems like everybody has migrated to Facebook.Too much of a pain to post these piano improvisations in Facebook.i still enjoy doing them, so I think my plan for now is to keep them here on MySpace, bu...
Posted by on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:49:00 GMT

Thanks Mr. Loesser

2 years of these improvisations! This is a long one, because, near where I was going to end, the devil took hold of me and told me to pay respect to the year's end by quoting Frank Loesser's famous...
Posted by on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:44:00 GMT

dissonance

I haven't really been using this blog much, but I'll just post this thought as much for my own benefit as anything else. This new improv isn't the most audience friendly I've done. I enjoy making ...
Posted by on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:31:00 GMT

Richard’s chinese musical

The Academy for New Musical Theatre(ANMT) has chosen my musical "Daughter Of Beijing" for their concert reading series! It's at the Colony Theatre 555 N. Third St., Burbank, on Monday October 27, 2008...
Posted by on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:20:00 GMT

more skin?

Lately I've been just letting these piano improvisations speak for themselves, without a blog. I am still feeling good about posting the music, though. I've slowed the pace this year, partly due...
Posted by on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:05:00 GMT

Hindemith

For you music theory nerds out there, in this improv I seem to have indulged in a proclivity towards chords built on fourths. They create an interesting ambiguity and a harmonic no man's land, edgy ...
Posted by on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:17:00 GMT

2008

Yes there will be 2008 piano improvisations. I just enjoy doing them; it's as simple as that! Here's the first one of this new year.
Posted by on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:43:00 GMT

Happy new year improv

I have been doing these piano improvisations for exactly one year. This new one is derivative, but in the holiday spirit. A bit of Jingle Bells, a bit of Auld Lang Syne, and somehow, magically, at...
Posted by on Sat, 29 Dec 2007 14:11:00 GMT