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 major ...

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 Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. 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

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

*'' 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