Jeff Baumeister

“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 - 1995
Bernard 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

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

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Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

Philadelphia

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

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.