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Jeff Baumeister

About Me

“A prediction for the coming year (or two) - you will soon know the name of local pianist, Jeff Baumeister” - Ken Weiss, Philadelphia Correspondent, Cadence Magazine Pianist Jeff Baumeister teaches music theory, ear training and jazz improvisation at Bucks County Community College. As a freelance writer, his transcription and analysis essays are frequently featured in DownBeat magazine. In 2004, he received the prestigious Cultural Incentive Grant from the Bucks County Community College Foundation to record his original compositions for jazz quartet. This recording, titled “Useful Music,” became his debut CD as a leader and was acknowledged as Editor’s Choice, Best of 2005 - New Discoveries, and Publisher's Top Picks for 2005 by All About Jazz.com , and was selected Top Ten Best Albums Of 2005 by Jazz Views.com.Jeff earned degrees in jazz studies from William Paterson University and The University of the Arts. His teachers include, Uri Caine, Tom Lawton, Don Glanden and Jim McNeely. He studied classical piano with Sam Bellardo, and composing and arranging with McNeely and Manny Albam at the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop in NYC. He was awarded the Eubie Blake Scholarship and the Bernard Peiffer Jazz Piano Award for Excellence, Creativity, and Dedication to Jazz Piano. Jeff lives in Huntingdon Valley, PA with his wife, Karen, and daughter, Annemarie, and dog, Maggie. Recent performances include appearences with Dick Oatts, Larry McKenna, Rick Stepton and Terrell Stafford.Wahbo Records
is a musicians’ collective independent micro label dedicated to documenting creatively distinctive new works in classical, jazz and improvised music. are available at; itunes
cadence
the jazz loft
cd baby
amazon
jazsound - philly's greatest music store Many thanks to all our friends in these cities for purchasing Useful Music. Ochsenhausen, Germany
Tokyo, Japan
Saitama-City, Japan
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Emilia Romagna Region, Italy
Helsinki, Finland
Nijmegen, Netherlands
São Luís Island, Braziland of course, to all our friends in the USA and Canada - Thanks for your support. full reviews,
jazz cd reviews
jazz reviews
all about jazz
word press
cadence, jazz improv, philly inquirer, and others jeff at All About Jazz "Congratulations to you and your saxophonist! Your music is world-class."- Mark C. Gridley (author of Jazz Styles: History And Analysis, Prentice Hall)"Baumeister is completely original, with a fresh take on free/avant garde jazz that is challenging yet eminently listenable. An example of the terrific music coming out of Philadelphia's thriving jazz scene. "
- Tony Rogers, Jazz CD Reviews.com“Completely captivating and with a certain aesthetic connection to classic ECM piano recordings, Useful Music has all the potential to be a classic in its own right. Baumeister’s writing, while evoking its deceptively gentle veneer, is more structurally rich than its antecedents, making it a completely modern take on an established aesthetic.
- John Kelman, All About Jazz.com"The organic lucidity that animates each of Baumeister's composition is the real treasure of Useful Music and a compelling reason to return to this album again and again"
- Dimitry Ekshtut, Jazz Improv Magazine“Useful Music is moody, detailed, and unique. The quartet weaves in and out of changes with subtlety and grace on this spectacular set of originals. Highly recommended.”
- Andrew Ciccone, Sound of Market Street“This is my favorite sort of jazz approach,
really smart and burning.”
- John Anthony, audio engineer, Maja Audio Group“Improvised music that has the lyricism of the best composed music of the last century - wonderfully mysterious - a beautiful, clear recorded sound, live and personal.”
- David Demsey, saxophonist, Coordinator of Jazz Studies, William Paterson University"Useful Music is an album that combines the cerebral to the hot playing in colorful, modern and high aesthetics."
- Vangelis Aragiannis, Jazz & Tzaz , Greece“Exploratory yet rooted, oblique yet lyrical, dark but playful, all rendered with synergetic group interplay.”
-Tom Lawton, pianist and composer, Dreambox Media“I really enjoyed this cd! Great songs and great playing,
Check it out!"
-Uri Caine, pianist and composer, Winter and Winter

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 22/03/2007
Band Website: http://www.jeffbaumeister.com
Band Members: Jeff Baumeister Quartet is Jeff Baumeister - piano, Pete Paulsen - bass, Greg Riley - sax, Dan Capecchi - drums
Influences: everybody
Sounds Like: Useful Music - Jeff Baumeister Quartet

Editor’s Choice, Best of 2005, New Discoveries
- John Kelman, senior editor, All About Jazz.com

Top Ten Best Albums Of 2005
- Nick Lea, publisher, Jazz Views.uk

Publisher's Top Picks for 2005, Honorable Mention
- Michael Ricci, publisher, All About Jazz.com
“Jeff Baumeister is an artist deserving wider recognition, he is the newcomer alongside more established forward-thinking folks like Dave Douglas, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland, Bill Frisell, Tomasz Stanko and others - he's got his own thing happening that bodes well for the future”
- John Kelman, Senior Editor, All About Jazz the-philadelphia-series “While not recommended for short attention spans, the session is a refined study of high - end improvisation - full of quiet but fiery interplay, cerebral and engaging. Pianist Jeff Baumeister's new CD could just as easily be found amid the hushed discs of the Munich- based ECM label.”
- Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer"There's a quiet intelligence to Jeff Baumeister's playing that often brings Paul Bley to mind. In many ways this is the sort of piano session ECM releases by the bucketful only with warmer, more upfront production. If you're as fond of smart, probing piano music as I am, this is a fine example."
-Jerome Wilson, Cadence Magazine"Baumeister, Dan Capecchi, Greg Riley and Peter Paulsen executed every piece with boldness. The abstractly painted soundscapes are a Stenson-like blending heritage with a touch of groovy lyricism. They defy all, culminating in six masterpieces. As soon as your ears will get to this album you will be impressed by Baumeister’s craft. Highly recommended! "
- Dr. Ana Isabel Ordonez, Jazz Review.com
Pictured here in a publicity shot for his piano recital in the mid-1960 at Alice Tully Hall, Dr. Bellardo (for d.b.) was and still is one of the biggest influences in my life and music. In the early 1980's at Bucks County Community College, he introduced me to the music of Bach and Beethoven through Brahms and Liszt and up to Bartok, Schoenberg, Hindemith, and Persichetti. Our lessons went on for hours, as he would analyze and discuss their compositional techniques. But, the best lesson I had learned he taught by example. He lived his life as a dedicated musician, teacher and friend. He unselfishly put the needs of others above his own. He died tragically on February 6th, 2007. His influence will continue to grow due to the countless number of people he has touched.
Record Label: wahbo records, north country distributors
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Huntingdon Valley's Jeff Baumeister embraces avant-garde jazz...

By Kyle Schulz, Oct. 25, 2006 © Montgomery NewspapersDiscovering the jazz greats when he studied at Bucks County Community College, Jeff Baumeister found his new calling there and the challenging ava...
Posted by on Mon, 14 May 2007 09:01:00 GMT