Jazz guitarist, bassist, composer and director Joshua Bayer has performed at venues such as The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Detroit Opera House, Blues Alley, The Harlem Renaissance Festival, The World Jazz Festival, The Phillips Collection, The Contemporary Theater Festival, The One Step Down, New York Museum Of Modern Art, National Public Radio, and Philadelphia's Chris's Jazz Café.
Besides being featured on BET on Jazz and performing original new jazz with the Joshua Bayer Quartet, Josh has played with jazz artists Neal Creque, Dick Lurie, Gary Thomas, Ron Holloway, Marty Nau, The Federal Jazz Commission, and Chris Vadala. Josh's recordings can be found on the Jazzheads and Interlace Records labels. His compositions have been published by C.F. Peters and LightHouse Music.
Josh's credentials include a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Maryland, and a Master of Music in Composition from Cleveland State University. A teacher and clinician, Josh serves on the faculty of American University, where he is Musician in Residence and director of the AU Jazz Orchestra.
Josh has received grants and awards from The National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP, The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, The Prince George's Arts Council, The Maryland Summer Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts, The Loyola Composition Competition, and the Bascom Little Fund.
Awards
Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County – Individual Artists Award -
2014 - 2015
Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County – Individual Artists Award -
2009 - 2010
Prince George’s Arts Council Artist Individual Artist Grant – Jazz Performance/History
1998 - 2002
Prince George’s Arts Council Artist Individual Artist Grant
1998 - 1999
Walter Summer Award for Artistic Achievement in Composition
Summer, 1996
Finalist
ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Competition
May, 1995
First Place
Loyola Composition Competition for Young Maryland Composers
April, 1993
National Endowment for the Arts - NALAA Arts Corps Fellowship
Summer, 1992
Bascom Little Fund Grant for the Opera Cindy Laskowski
June, 1992
"Joshua Bayer is no simple carpenter of tunes, but a master craftsman, skilled and
driven to deliver to his audience a level of satisfaction others only dream of."
Fred Gerantab
Jazz Review
( full interview)
"These guys are good! [The Joshua Bayer Jazz Group] blend their considerable
talents to bring you the best in straight-ahead jazz. They cover the sounds of early
swing, make a pass through be-bop and slide on into the jazz sounds of the
present."
Borders Books and Music
"Bayer and the rest of his trio...slide through Bayer's compositions with so much
cool you just know they never once took off their sunglasses!"
Journal Newspapers
"I like the way [the Joshua Bayer Trio] interacts with each other. We're lucky to
have them in the area. [They're] doing great work."
Yolanda Turner
Program Director/On-air host
WPFW-FM, Washington D.C.
"...spirited performances...deft solos...fine interplay..."
"...intense songwriting...excellent arrangements..."
"...exemplary works of the highest order..."
bostonherald.com
"...a smooth flowing liquidity to his style and approach to each song..."
"...The group works like clockwork..."
"...jazz compositions played by superior musicians..."
Bass Inside Magazine
Read more
"Joshua Bayer is no simple carpenter of tunes, but a master craftsman, skilled and
driven to deliver to his audience a level of satisfaction others only dream of."
Fred Gerantab
Jazz Review
( full interview)
"These guys are good! [The Joshua Bayer Jazz Group] blend their considerable
talents to bring you the best in straight-ahead jazz. They cover the sounds of early
swing, make a pass through be-bop and slide on into the jazz sounds of the
present."
Borders Books and Music
"Bayer and the rest of his trio...slide through Bayer's compositions with so much
cool you just know they never once took off their sunglasses!"
Journal Newspapers
"I like the way [the Joshua Bayer Trio] interacts with each other. We're lucky to
have them in the area. [They're] doing great work."
Yolanda Turner
Program Director/On-air host
WPFW-FM, Washington D.C.
"...spirited performances...deft solos...fine interplay..."
"...intense songwriting...excellent arrangements..."
"...exemplary works of the highest order..."
bostonherald.com
"...a smooth flowing liquidity to his style and approach to each song..."
"...The group works like clockwork..."
"...jazz compositions played by superior musicians..."
Bass Inside Magazine
"Joshua Bayer has crafted a singularly wonderful recording that invites you in from
the very first chord and makes you want to stay long after the final note has faded
away."
Jim Mcelroy
Jazz Review
(full review)
"[Josh] wields an ebullient pen, crafting upbeat, bright tunes remiscent of the Dave
Brubeck or Vince Guaraldi approach..."
Dan McClenaghan
All About Jazz
(full review)
"Every year you'll hear two or three CDs...that just knock your socks off and jostle
for position in those year-end top ten lists. This is one of them."
Dan McClenaghan
All About Jazz
(full review)
"...Lines and Grooves swings!"
"...The quartet conjures up some old school bebop flavor..."
"...burning swing..."
"...highly recommended for jazz purists..."
Jazz Improv Magazine
"This CD (Music for Dances) celebrates acoustic jazz in the finest traditions of
straight-ahead playing......What a breath of fresh air Bayer brings to the
idiom......This CD of Bayer's own compositions is a pleasure to listen to and enjoy."
The Gazette Newspapers
(full review)
"Bayer's excellent debut, Music for Dances (is) as smooth as zambonied ice....Music
for Dances is wonderfully recorded."
The Washington City Paper
"Joshua Bayer's CD, Music For Dances, is a worthy debut that will help ensure that
jazz will continue to live and grow. I like it."
Candy Shannon
On-air host
WUDC Jazz90, Washington D.C.
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