Lenox — On Friday, November 28, American jazz pianist Ted Rosenthal will appear at Tanglewood’s Linde Center with his trio and special guests to perform his inspired treatments of Chopin, Rachmaninov, Brahms, and other pillars of the classical canon, in a program titled “Classics Reimagined.” Joining Ted will be bassist Noriko Ueda, drummer Quincy Davis, violinist Sara Caswell, and clarinetist Anat Cohen.
Ted Rosenthal is a celebrated American jazz pianist, composer, and educator known for his lyrical creativity and technical finesse. Winner of the 1988 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, he has performed with major jazz figures including Gerry Mulligan and Art Farmer. Rosenthal has released numerous acclaimed recordings, most recently “Impromp2,” a collection of classical themes Ted has “reimagined” into jazz. He appears at leading venues worldwide and is also a dedicated educator, teaching at the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. Rosenthal continues to shape contemporary jazz through his performances, compositions, and innovative reinterpretations of classic works.
I spoke with Ted last month to learn more about the music his group will perform on the 28th. He is generous in acknowledging other jazz interpretations of the classics, but the truth is that his own arrangements stand apart—crafted with exceptional skill and musicality. Our conversation has been edited for clarity.
Winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition was a significant milestone for you. How did it shape your career?
It was a huge honor, and it still is. I had this wonderful calling card, and I used it to the best of my abilities to further my career, which it certainly did.
I was also very interested in Monk’s music. So shortly thereafter, I released one of the CDs that I’m most proud of, ‘Images of Monk,’ which is a collection of my ‘reimaginings’ of Monk’s music. (I’m currently reimagining themes from classical music.)
Your new CD celebrates the fusion of classical themes with jazz. Can you describe one track from that album that exemplifies the project’s spirit?
Yes. When you choose an album order, you like to put your best foot forward. The first track is Chopin’s Waltz in C-Sharp Minor, re-imagined as a samba. And that wasn’t quite enough for me, so I incorporated half-step key shifts throughout the piece that keep it harmonically fresh and surprising and keep the momentum going.
I’m very proud of the result. I put one of the famous motives from that piece into a jazz syncopated rhythm. I’ve also performed it with chamber orchestra, and I’ve witnessed many orchestra musicians walking around singing that little bebop phrase I adapted from Chopin! The Chopin Waltz re-imagined as a samba would be a good example of a track from that album that exemplifies the project’s spirit.
When reviewer Doug Ramsey described your arrangements of classics, why did he write that your arrangements ‘do not amount to tiresome foolery’?
I think there’s a history of this being done—more so in years back—where it was not done perhaps as convincingly. Some of the players who tried to do it were not really, let’s say, legitimate jazz players. It could be fun, but musically less substantial, and less satisfying to people in the jazz world, who might have different musical expectations. But having said that, I obviously appreciate the concept and encourage musicians to explore these hybrid approaches.
One of my goals is to make it sound organic, natural, and, of course, musical—not forced. One of the reviews I was most proud of—I can’t quote it word for word—said, ‘I stepped away from my CD player, and as I was listening to this track, I thought, “Oh, that standard sounds so familiar, but I’m not sure what it is.” And I walked back, and it was actually a Chopin nocturne.’ That’s one of my musical goals, to make each arrangement sound like it might be a Jerome Kern song you’ve never heard before.
I love it! Is there a classical composer whose work you feel is unexpectedly compatible with jazz?
That’s a great question. As I say in the CD liner notes, I’m first looking for melodies that are compelling. As a jazz pianist, I love to be a bit mischievous and enrich the harmonies in a jazz style. And then I’m looking for ways to have a jazz form and feel, a song form, something that’s comfortable to improvise on in a jazz style.
So, to answer your question, if the material seems workable, I will massage it to make it fully convincing for our world. If it doesn’t work as well, I’ll see if I can do a little more massaging of the material to bring it into a form that sounds organic.
For example, the Chopin that I mentioned—his phrases are remarkably symmetrical and are reminiscent of songs from the Great American Songbook in terms of melody, phrase lengths, and structure.
Now, when you get to Brahms—and there is a Brahms track on the recording—that’s trickier. Because Brahms’ music spins out in very unexpected ways, with irregular phrasings and even irregular metric devices. I’ve done a few arrangements of Brahms, but it takes a little more thought and care to make it happen.
You have worked with Kids 4 Harmony and Boston University Tanglewood Institute a number of times. What do collaborations like that mean to you?
They’re very meaningful. My career has evolved in a way that one of my interests and passions is bringing together people from both the classical music world and the jazz world. That has been a very important and meaningful part of my career. I like to build bridges. I like to look for commonalities and not build walls or say, ‘Don’t do this,’ or have a ‘You can’t do this until you learn that’ kind of attitude. It’s been very gratifying for me.
There are many ways classical musicians can appreciate what we’re doing in the jazz world. For example, this summer, one of my former Juilliard classical students, Anna Handler, was the assistant conductor of the BSO. She’s a fantastic conductor and pianist. One of the most fun and interesting moments came when both watched the BSO rehearsing John Williams’ new piano concerto. And I learned that the three movements were subtitled ‘Art Tatum,’ ‘Bill Evans,’ and ‘Oscar Peterson/Phineas Newborn.’
We were listening to this quite modern piece of music, and she asked me, ‘Ted, where’s the Art Tatum? Where’s the Phineas Newborn? Where’s the Bill Evans?’ I did my best to point out the musical references I heard. The references were quite oblique, but I showed her what I thought could be tangible musical elements of those connections. So, there are many, many ways you can help classical musicians gain an appreciation for jazz—or just be better listeners of jazz with greater understanding of the music—which usually leads to greater enjoyment!
And the reverse is true: My jazz students at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music are at an extremely high level. But their eyes light up when I show them things about piano tone, piano sound and color that you might more likely learn about in a classical piano lesson. So there’s a lot we can all learn from each other.
You’ve been known to say that music can help bridge divides and create empathy. Can you share a moment recently when you witnessed that power in action?
It happens to me personally, because my musical performances bring me into a variety of circles. Some of the circles are aligned with what we might think of as the politics that artists are drawn to. But I also have friends in other fields with different political views, who still appreciate me and my music. And we connect that way. I think we figure out what we can agree on and don’t harp on what we disagree on.
I recently returned from a piano pedagogy conference in Malaysia, attended by about 75 percent classical pianists and teachers and perhaps 25 percent jazz pianists and teachers. I saw people coming together in mutual appreciation. Music has kind of a magical way of uniting people who may not agree on their political beliefs and in other areas.
In a polarized world, what can musicians and arts institutions uniquely contribute to civic healing?
That’s a big question. As I said, music has this almost magical way of softening people’s hearts and making them a little more open. So you’re not as quick to say, ‘Oh, this person’s a liberal, this person’s a conservative, this person’s this…’ You can appreciate something that’s coming from their heart and soul and see them more as a whole person.
I like to say that when you see my trio—with a Japanese woman bass player and an African American drummer—that even just the visual of us making music together makes a statement. Playing music together as a group is a very intimate kind of relationship. It’s an intimate conversation. There has to be trust, there has to be love, there has to be respect. So I think even a little bit can go a long way. Seeing us and hearing us play together is much more effective—not to mention more interesting and more fun—than me standing up and making a political speech before we play.
Can you tell us more about the music you’ll be playing at TLI on the 28th?
Yes. This concert is a collection of classical themes I’ve ‘reimagined’ into jazz. It’s mostly repertoire from my current CD, ‘Classics Reimagined: Impromp2,’ and the number two follows my first CD of this repertoire, which is called ‘Impromptu.’ We’re going to play one or two pieces from the first CD and then mostly selections from the new one. It will feature the trio, which consists of Noriko Ueda on bass, Quincy Davis on drums. It will also feature the wonderful Sara Caswell on violin along with the great clarinetist Anat Cohen.
I think our repertoire will resonate with the Berkshires and Tanglewood audience, as well as anyone who listens to classical and jazz music.
Anything else you want to include?
Yes. [TLI Artistic Director] Mark Rulison and I are making summer plans—another concert in Ozawa Hall—following up on last summer’s sold out ‘Trumpet Summit’ concert. I’m thrilled and excited that jazz has really taken hold in a big way at Tanglewood, mainly through TLI. It’s really terrific!
I truly believe—and I tell this to everyone who will listen—that there’s a great audience for jazz here, and jazz is a perfect complement to the many other cultural offerings in the Berkshires.
