Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
pianist and composer.
Early life
Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist
Lennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation.
Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...
.
Beirach later entered the
Berklee College of Music. After one year, he left Berklee and began attending the Manhattan School of Music. While there, he studied with Ludmilla Ulehla. In 1972, he graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a Master's Degree in Music Theory and Composition.
Career
In 1972 Beirach began working with
Stan Getz. He also worked with
Chet Baker. Beirach has maintained an ongoing musical partnership with
David Liebman
David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach.
In June 2010, he received a N ...
from the late-1960s to the present in the groups Lookout Farm and
Quest. In addition, Liebman and Beirach have frequently performed and recorded as a duo.
Several of Beirach's compositions – "Leaving" and "Elm", for instance – have found their way into the jazz standard repertoire.
Playing style
Beirach's style is influenced by
Art Tatum
Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...
,
Bill Evans,
McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...
,
Chick Corea and his earlier classical training. It is also individualistic with many touches all its own.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
As sideman
With
George Adams
* ''
Sound Suggestions'' (ECM, 1979)
With
John Abercrombie
* ''
Arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
'' (ECM, 1978)
* ''
Abercrombie Quartet'' (ECM, 1979)
* ''
M'' (ECM, 1980)
With
John Scofield
John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in th ...
* ''
John Scofield Live
''John Scofield Live'' is a live album by jazz guitarist John Scofield, featuring pianist Richie Beirach, bassist George Mraz and drummer Joe LaBarbera. It was recorded on November 4, 1977, in Munchen, Germany.
Track listing
Personnel
* John ...
'' (Enja, 1978)
With
Chet Baker
*''
You Can't Go Home Again
''You Can't Go Home Again'' is a novel by Thomas Wolfe published posthumously in 1940, extracted by his editor, Edward Aswell, from the contents of his vast unpublished manuscript ''The October Fair''. It is a sequel to ''The Web and the Rock'', ...
'' (Horizon, 1977)
*''
The Best Thing for You'' (A&M, 1977
989
With
Dave Liebman
David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach.
In June 2010, he received ...
*''
First Visit (album)'' (Philips, 1973)
*''
Lookout Farm'' (ECM, 1973)
*''
Sweet Hands'' (Horizon, 1975)
*''
Light'n Up, Please!'' (Horizon, 1976)
*''
Pendulum
A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward th ...
'' (Artists House, 1978)
With
*''
Temple of Birth'' (Columbia, 1975)
* ''
Firefly'' (
CTI, 1977)
With
Steve Davis
Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he reached eight World S ...
* ''Explorations and Impressions'' (
Double-Time
In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...
, 1997)
With
Laurie Antonioli
Laurie Antonioli (born March 9, 1958) is an American jazz singer and record producer.
Early life and education
Antonioli was born in Marin County. California. At the age of sixteen she began playing guitar and performing primarily her own original ...
* ''The Duo Session'' (Nabel, 2005)
With
Ron McClure Trio
* ''Inspiration'' (Ken, 1991)
References
External links
Richie Beirach's WebsiteRichie Beirach at AllAboutJazz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beirach, Richie
1947 births
American jazz pianists
American male pianists
Berklee College of Music alumni
ECM Records artists
Living people
Musicians from New York City
Post-bop pianists
20th-century American pianists
Jazz musicians from New York (state)
21st-century American pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Quest (band) members
Sunnyside Records artists
SteepleChase Records artists
ACT Music artists
Origin Records artists