Jed Distler

- New York, NY Classical / Jazz / Experimental

About

Members: Jed Distler

Label: Musical Concepts

Bio: If you're familiar with Jed Distler as one of the most engaging music writers and radio hosts in the United States, you might be surprised to learn he is also "an altogether extraordinary pianist" (NEWARK STAR-LEDGER) and New York's “Downtown keyboard magus" (THE NEW YORKER). He has premiered wor... See Full Bio

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Status

Jed Distler has a show on 05/28/2012 at 06:00 PM @ Cornelia Street... in New York, NY http://www.reverbnation.com/c./poni/113517193 #concert

Press

“There is something very endearing about this album ["Meditate With The Masters"]. Distler plays with such grace and lightness that the beautiful emotions he delivers speak directly to the senses, and ultimately to our inner child. ”

— Cendrine Marrouat, Examiner.com

“Review of CD Album "Savage Nightingale" Soprano Darynn Zimmer w/ Eliot Fisk (guitar), Rex Benincasa (percussion), John Distler (piano). Labor Records LAB 7087, Released November 16, 2010: "...Jed Distler is the sensitive pianist on the [American composer Charles Wakefield] Cadman"”

— Joanne Sydney Lessner, Opera News

“Summertime Anarchy, but of the Guided Kind: ... During the first performance [of Terry Riley's "In C"] there was no question that Jed Distler, a pianist, composer and concert organizer, was shaping what was heard by an audience of a few hundred hardy listeners and many more passersby. An old hand at “In C,” Mr. Distler has led previous accounts at the Cornelia Street Café and on the street outside that club. Facing the ensemble at a toy piano he plunked and patted sporadically, Mr. Distler raised a finger to summon conspiratorial hushes, and leapt, arms outspread, to urge climaxes. No two performances of “In C” are alike, and this one stood out for its vibrant, variegated colors... ”

— Steve Smith, New York Times - Music Review

“The agony of having supported the six-year battle of his beloved spouse of thirty years--Célia Cooke--and losing her to cancer on March 30, led pianist/composer Jed Distler to look to some old friends for solace and to his life in music. An outgrowth of his need to heal is his recently released CD, MEDITATE WITH THE MASTERS ... He sees his contribution as helpful in creating a “gentle ambiance, ideal for holistic and therapeutic treatments …” The hint of the familiar in each of the fifteen tracks ... provides pianistically pleasant variations, composed in a traditional style with rhythmically soothing, unfussy piano treatments. One of my favorites is his folk-like treatment of Schumann’s ‘Von fremden Ländern und Menschen’ from Kinderszenen, infusing the beautiful Schumann theme within a new and original connective musical tissue. ”

— Ilona Oltuski , Chamber Musician Today

“ Thank you for sending this music, it is very comforting which is something there isn't enough of in this world.”

— Su Polo, Singer/Song Writer & Host, The Artist Lounge at Nightingale Lounge, NYC

“ a musician with smoke coming out of his ears ”

— WFMU (Alternative Radio Station)

“My recent work has been increasingly stressful without much relief. This has led to nights of spinning thoughts and great difficulty in relaxing enough to sleep. I have found myself often turning to your new cd. It has been very effective in settling my mind and my spirit and getting my body ready to rest. The music is familiar enough to be comforting and yet played in a way that is interesting enough to allow me to focus myself. In short, it takes me to a place of relaxation, a focused, quiet, meditative place, a place to stop. And then be ready to go again... ”

— Reverend Dr. Robert L. Brashear, Pastor, West-Park Presbyterian Church, NYC

“the Downtown keyboard magus”

— The New Yorker

“Critic's Pick: RITE OF SUMMER (July 2, 1pm & 3pm, Governor's Island): A new Governors Island contemporary-music festival curated by pianists Blair McMillen and Pam Goldberg kicks off with downtown flagbearer Jed Distler and 40 NYC musicians hovering around an addictive tonal center in a performance of Terry Riley's game-changing 'In C.' ”

— Time Out New York

“an altogether extraordinary pianist”

— Michael Redmond, Newark Star-Ledger

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2012
May 28

Cornelia Street Cafe
New York, NY, US | 6:00pm
Cornelia Street Cafe
New York, NY, US
Mon May 28, 2012 6:00pm
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The Cornelia Street Cafe welcomes Ukrainian-born American composer, conductor and pianist, Virko Baley, where he will perform recent work Monday evening May 28th for Serial Underground, New York’s premier New Music series, hosted by Jed Distler, composer, pianist, and artistic director of ComposerCollaborative, Inc. Baley received the prestigious Academy Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2008 and a Grammy Award as recording producer for his TNC record label in 2007. The program will include a sneak preview of “Not Medea,” Baley’s forthcoming mono-opera, his collaboration with librettist Yuriy Tarnawsky and stage director Melissa Weaver. Distler who in 2002 met Baley in New York describes the artist as “the complete musician. Virko’s wide-ranging and imaginative compositions, his energetic and practical leadership from the podium, the effortless keyboard facility have been sources of inspiration and learning for me, not to mention his insights and advice on living a full productive artist life.” Monday’s May 28th program will also feature selections from Baley’s Emily Dickinson Songbooks (2001–2008), Et lux perpetua (Rest in Peace) for piano (2004), Pajarillo (from Cante Hondo) for piano solo (2002), Persona III (Luisa Triana) for flute and castanets (2008), and Palm of the Hand (from Dreamtime Suite No. 4) for chamber orchestra (1999-2000) with performances by some of his longtime champions. Performers for this evening with Baley include the composer at the piano, host pianist Jed Distler, soprano Laura Bohn, violinist Tom Chiu, and the renowned New York New Music ensemble Continuum with clarinetist Moran Katz and pianist Cheryl Seltzer Doors open at 5:45 p.m. Showtime from 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. The Cornelia Street Café is located at 29 Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village. Cash-only $20 admission at the door includes a $10 food/drink credit. Reservations are strongly recommended. Space is limited and the concert expected to sell out. Please call 212.989.9319 for reservations or additional information. Born in 1938 in Radekhiv, former Soviet Union (now Ukraine), Virko Baley emigrated to the United States in 1949, receiving both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Arts (now California Institute for the Arts). Writing for orchestra, chamber, instrument and vocal, including films, Baley co-produced and composed the score for Yuri Illienko’s “Swan Lake: the Zone,” winner of two top awards at Cannes in 1990. A founder and, for many years, conductor and musical director of the Nevada Symphony, Baley co-directs Nevada Encounters of New Music (N.E.O.N.), often collaborating with the New Juilliard Ensemble in New York. As principal guest conductor and music advisor to the Kiev Camerata in Ukraine, Baley has released a series of CDs through his record label TNC containing rare recordings of Ukrainian pianist Sviatoslav Richter and of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the latter earning him a Grammy Award as recording producer in 2007 for Best Instrumental Performance with Orchestra. The Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University commissioned Baley in 2007 to complete “Red Earth: Hunger,” his opera on the Holodomor or “genocide- famine in Ukraine,” 1932–33. “Red Earth: Hunger” will be performed in concert in New York in February 2013. Baley is Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. Called “an altogether extraordinary pianist” (Newark Star-Ledger), and New York's “Downtown keyboard magus" (The NewYorker), Jed Distler has hosted Serial Underground, a New Music variety series at The Cornelia Street Café since 2004. He is also occasional host and composer-in- residence for Q2‟s “Hammered!” (WQXR). A Yamaha artist, Jed Distler has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Lois V. Vierk, Virko Baley, and Wendy Mae Chambers, among others -- many written especially for him. In addition to recent commissions from Jenny Lin, IonSound, and Song in Music, his works have been recorded by Margaret Leng Tan, Guy Livingston, and Quattro Mani, among other New Music luminaries. His new CD, “Meditate with the Masters” (Musical Concepts) was released January of last year. ComposersCollaborative Inc. promotes new music as an integral part of our lives and culture. We help artists connect with audiences by encouraging big ideas, fueling vital collaborations, and producing innovative multidisciplinary performances.
2012
Apr 14

Piedmont Piano Company
Oakland, CA, US | 8:00pm
Piedmont Piano Company
Oakland, CA, US
Sat Apr 14, 2012 8:00pm
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In-store concert: "Canto Ostinato" Pianists Jed Distler and Jerry Kuderna: Works for two pianos by Alan Hovhaness, Robert Helps & Simeon Ten Holt Jed concludes his west coast concert tour in Oakland on April 14, reuniting with pianist Jerome Kuderna, one of the Bay Area¹s most esteemed, charismatic and inspiring musicians and a much beloved teacher, for an evening of two piano music at Piedmont Piano Co. “Jerry is my piano brother,” says Jed, “and when we play together, the effect is positively kinetic, be it sight reading or meticulously rehearsing.” Their program includes music by their mutual mentor Robert Helps, Alan Hovhaness, Franz Schubert and Simeon Ten Holt's 1979 Minimalist Manifesto “Canto Ostinato.”
2012
Apr 9

Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillo…
Las Vegas, NV, US | 7:30pm
Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillot R...
Las Vegas, NV, US
Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:30pm
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The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Department of Music presents a NEXTET concert with composer in residence Jed Distler. This concert is free and open to the public. The concert will include a performance of the String Quartet (Mister Softee Variations, 1999) as well as some Jed's solo piano works. Campus Location: Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center; Office/Remote Location: Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillot Recital Hall; Music 100 Credit: Yes; Phone: 702-895-3332 ; E-mail: music@unlv.edu; More info on this event: http://music.unlv.edu; Event Sponsor: UNLV Department of Music
2012
Apr 8

Winchester Cultural Cen…
Las Vegas, NV, US | 7:30pm
Winchester Cultural Center
Las Vegas, NV, US
Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:30pm
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And on Sunday April 8, The Winchester Cultural Center in Las Vegas will present Jed Distler in a two hour-plus solo piano tour-de-force embracing Thelonious Monk’s complete songs. The Winchester Cultural Center is located at 3130 McLeod Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89121. Contact: (702) 455-7340
2012
Apr 5

Packard Hall Colorado C…
Colorado Springs, CO, US | 7:30pm
Packard Hall Colorado College
Colorado Springs, CO, US
Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:30pm
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Colorado College Music Department presents Visiting Distinguished Composers Concert: Jed Distler, composer, in concert Colorado College Performance Faculty During his April tour, travelling south to Colorado Springs, Jed returns to Colorado College as a Visiting Distinguished Composer-in-Residence. On Thursday April 5 , his program encompasses works by Robert Schumann, Frederic Rzewski, Virgil Thomson, David Maslanka, and Thelonious Monk, as well as his own music. Hailed as “an altogether extraordinary pianist,” (Newark Star-Ledger) and as “The Downtown Keyboard Magus” (The New Yorker), and “a witty, congenial and adventurous pianist and composer” by Steve Smith (The New York Times), Jed will be touring the West Coast this April giving concerts in Colorado Springs, Denver, Las Vegas, Berkeley and Oakland. New York new music audiences know Jed as the curator and host of the long running Serial Underground series presented by ComposersCollaborative, Inc. at the landmark Cornelia Street Café, as well as a guest host for Q2/New York Pubic Radio¹s keyboard show Hammered!