Lenox — If you know anything about Thelonius Monk, then it will mean something to you that Ted Rosenthal was winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. And if you are unusually savvy, you will know this puts Ted in the same league as Joshua Redman, Jane Monheit, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Tierney Sutton, Joey DeFrancesco, Chris Potter, Gretchen Parlato, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Ben Williams. Also, you will be glad to know that the Ted Rosenthal Trio will appear at Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s (BUTI) West Street Theater on July 9.
I could go on and on about Ted’s keyboard dexterity, but The New York Times has already done that. (It is pretty hard to miss.) Yes, he has chops that will make your head spin, but Ted is a composer, as all jazz musicians ought to be, and some of the most amazing things you will hear at a Ted Rosenthal performance are not feats of manual dexterity but feats of on-the-fly, intellectual prowess. All jazz pianists make stuff up as they go. Ted does it in the manner of a composer.
Everything I wrote in advance of Ted’s BUTI performance last year is true this year:
You get three concerts in one: You will hear jazz standards, including Ted’s arrangements of the Great American Songbook (e.g., Gershwin, Rodgers); selections from Rosenthal’s opera ‘Dear Erich’; and his arrangements of classical themes (e.g., Tchaikovsky, Chopin) ‘reimagined’ for jazz trio. In each case, you get dazzling keyboard technique and inspired drum and bass performances, all in service to Ted’s arrangements, which are witty and sophisticated (i.e., really jazzy) but accessible to all audiences.
An internationally respected jazz pianist, arranger, and composer known for his work as a soloist, bandleader, and collaborator, Rosenthal was born in Great Neck, N.Y., in 1959 and studied music at Indiana University and The Juilliard School. He has released 15 CDs as a leader, including “Images of Monk” (1994) and “The King and I” (2009).
“Rhapsody in Gershwin,” featuring Ted’s arrangement of “Rhapsody in Blue” for jazz trio, reached number one in jazz album sales on iTunes and Amazon. The New York Times selected “Wonderland” as a holiday pick, and the album earned critical praise: “Sleek, chic and elegant,” wrote Howard Reich for the Chicago Tribune. “Impromptu” is a set of classical themes reimagined for jazz trio. Writing for “AllAboutJazz,” Elliott Simon advised, “A serious listen to ‘Impromptu’ will be a mind-changing experience … sit back and enjoy these wonderfully creative takes on ten compositions from the classical canon that have never sounded so cool.”
Rosenthal has composed music for film and television, including the documentary “The First Freedom: The Fight for Religious Liberty” (2012). He is also an esteemed music educator, having taught at The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, Ted has won awards including the Great American Jazz Piano Competition.
Hear the Ted Rosenthal Trio at Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s West Street Theater, 45 West St., Lenox, on July 9, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door.
