Born: February 14, 1963 Primary Instrument: Piano
“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, All About Jazz.com
Jeff earned degrees in Jazz Performance from William Paterson University (B.M.) and the University of the Arts (M.M.). Aside from college he studied privately with Sam Bellardo, Uri Caine, Tom Lawton, Al Stauffer and Jim McNeely. He also studied composing and arranging with McNeely and Manny Albam at the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop in NYC.
Jeff has been actively involved on the Philadelphia jazz scene since the early 1980s. As a regular contributor to DownBeat magazine many of his transcription and analysis essays are frequently published. Among these included analysis of solos by Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Tomasz Stanko with Dave Holland, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and John Zorn. Jeff teaches Jazz Studies at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa.
Awards:
Eubie Blake Scholarship - William Paterson University, 1992 - 1995Bernard Peiffer Jazz Piano Award for Excellence, Creativity, and Dedication to Jazz Piano - University of the Arts, 2003
Useful Music Wahbo Records
Editor’s
Choice,
Best of 2005 - New Discoveries
- John Kelman, All
About
Jazz.com
Top Ten Best Albums Of 2005
- Nick Lea, Jazz
Views.uk
Publisher's Top Picks for 2005 - Honorable Mention
- Michael Ricci,
publisher, All
About Jazz.com
“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
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
“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
“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
“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
Useful Music
Wahbo Records
2005
Greg Riley - sax
Jeff Baumeister - piano
Peter Paulsen - bass
Dan Capecchi - drums
As A Sideman
Live at Ortleb's Jazzhaus
Philadelphia Collective
Dreambox Media
2000
"Mamacita" Vol. 2, Track 7
Roger Prieto - flugelhorn
Jeff Baumeister - piano
Mike Boone - bass
Dave Browne - drums
Stormy Weather
Denis Di Blasio Quartet
Curtis Records
1990
Denis Di Blasio - woodwinds
Jeff Baumeister -
piano and organ
Ron Velosky -
bass
Tom
Poitras
- drums
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Primary Instrument:
Piano
Location:
Huntingdon Valley, PA
Willing to teach:
Intermediate to advanced students
Credentials/Background:
Assistant Professor, Bucks County Community College
Private Piano Instruction
BM in Jazz Studies / Performance, William Paterson
University
MM in Jazz Studies / Performance, University of the Arts
Contact 215.968.8135.
Private lessons may be arranged through
Bucks County Community College Continuing Education.
