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Sharp Radway

Sharp Radway is a pianist/composer/arranger/author who is a native of Hartford, Connecticut and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. He is a self-taught pianist whose roots can be found in the church. As a jazz pianist he has played throughout the country and abroad.

Among the recording artists whom he has worked and/or recorded with are Michael Carvin, Yusef Lateef, Bob Cunningham, Benny Powell, Bucky Pizzarelli, James Spalding, Benny Golson, Paul West, Rene McLean, Curtis Fuller, Red Holloway, Dick Griffin, Nicolas Payton, Diane Schuur, Carla Cook, Kevin Mahogany, Candido, Bill Saxton, Mickey Bass, Wycliffe Gordon, Russell Gunn, Vincent Herring, Fred Wesley, Andy McLoud, Ben Dixon, Ted Curson, Duane Eubanks, Joe Lee Wilson, Javon Jackson, Calvin Hill, Slide Hampton, Steve Turre, Frank Lacy, Jesse Davis, Hakiim Jami, Kiane Zawadi, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Fred Wesley, Greg Bandy, Greg Tardy, and Winard Harper to name a few.

He also works with The Spirit of Life Ensemble and The New York Metropolitan Big Band. Some of his main influences as a pianist are Bud Powell, Red Garland, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, and Herbie Hancock. Styles of music that have influenced his playing are Jazz, Reggae, Gospel, R&B, Hip-Hop, and Latin forms of music.

In addition to playing the piano he is also a prolific composer and arranger who has composed and arranged for renowned recording artists such as Greg Tardy, The Celebration of Lionel Hampton Big Band (of which he is also currently music director and pianist), and Greg Bandy. Staying true to his roots, he also continues to play in church regularly, serving as Minister of Music for a local church in Jersey City, New Jersey. Sharp has also appeared in film with Mos Def, Beyonce Knowles, Cedric the Entertainer, Jeffery Wright, and several others in the major motion picture “Cadillac Records” (2008). He acted and performed in the historic Off-Broadway play “The Connection” under the direction of Judith Malina. He is author of the book “Musicianship 101 (What They Don’t Tell You In School)”, published by Outskirts Press. He has also been retained as teaching faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn, New York.

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14
Album Review

Ray Blue: Work

Read "Work" reviewed by Edward Blanco


New York-based and bred, tenor saxophonist Ray Blue is no novice but a veteran player who has not received the accolades he so deserves. Perhaps after laying down and documenting an incredible volume of music on Work, the spotlight will shine a little brighter on this unheralded player. A composer and educator, as well as one of the most in-demand musicians in New York, Blue is a soulful performer, a full-throated sax man with a fluid and lyrical style which ...

3
Album Review

Sharp Radway: Hymns And Things (Introspection And Reflection)

Read "Hymns And Things (Introspection And Reflection)" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


All forms of jazz are a means of artistic personalization, but gospel jazz may be the ultimate form of individualized musical expression for those who believe. It serves as an aural representation of the individual communing with a higher power, and giving thanks. A broad yet set repertoire often binds gospel jazz projects and artists together, but no two people approach this style of music in the same manner. Pianist Hank Jones favored quiet musings on the divine while others, ...

4
Album Review

Sharp Radway: Hymns and Things (Introspection and Reflection)

Read "Hymns and Things (Introspection and Reflection)" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


A good dose of personal humility and devotion to a higher power can de-clutter the life and chosen form of artistic expression. In the case of pianist Sharp Radway, who comes to his gospel jazz from early musical endeavors in the church, a pure spirit of artistic expression is revealed on his debut, Hymns and Things (Introspection and Reflection).Radway mixes solo piano, piano trio and two-horn frontline quintet offerings--very adeptly sequenced--into an engaging and cohesive set of that ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Work

Jazzheads
2020

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Hymns and Things...

Self Produced
2012

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