Ted Rosenthal

Ted Rosenthal (born 1959) is an American jazz pianist. He has was featured on David Sanborn's series Night Music, and has performed worldwide, both as a leader and as a sideman with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and Jon Faddis. Rosenthal also has released ten CDs as a leader, which include new treatments and "derangements" of great American standards, jazz tunes and classical themes, as well as his original compositions. His ability to communicate both the creative and analytical aspects of jazz translates from the bandstand to the educational arena: he holds faculty positions at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and the New School University.

Rosenthal was born and raised in Great Neck, Long Island, New York. He began playing by ear at a young age, and started studying at 12 with Tony Aless, a sideman with Charlie Parker and Stan Getz. In high school, he studied briefly with Jaki Byard and Lennie Tristano, and attended workshops with Billy Taylor, Woody Shaw and others.

Although jazz was Rosenthal's main passion, at the time there were limited opportunities to study jazz at the conservatory level. Since he also found satisfaction and joy in classical music, he pursued classical piano studies at Manhattan School of Music. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in piano performance while continuing to pursue his love of jazz outside the classroom. After college, he continued his classical piano studies with Phillip Kawin while playing jazz in and around New York.

Rosenthal was the winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 1988, which launched his career as a solo artist, leading to the release of his first CD as a leader New Tunes, New Traditions, featuring Ron Carter, Billy Higgins and Tom Harrell; the album interweaves Thelonious Monk's with Rosenthal's original compositions.

...
Wikipedia