Show #3: Alan Pasqua For Next KCRW "Up Close" Event

I’m excited to do my first Up Close event at the beautiful Jerry and Anne Moss upstairs stage on Monday, May 20th. We’ll do a short history of jazz piano,…

By Tom Schnabel • May 10, 2013 • 1 min read

I’m excited to do my first Up Close event at the beautiful Jerry and Anne Moss upstairs stage on Monday, May 20th. We’ll do a short history of jazz piano, from New Orleans ragtime with Jelly Roll Morton, through Fats Waller, Monk, Errol Garner to modern masters like Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Jarrett. It’s going to one full hour, for sure.

Alan Pasqua chairs the Jazz Studies Department at USC Thornton School of Music; his faculty includes heavyweights like drummer Peter Erskine, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, and other stellar talents.

Alan has been an in-demand studio player with the likes of Quincy Jones, Queen Latifah, and Elton John. But that’s not why I like him. I started listening to his albums in the mid-1990s and immediately liked his compositions, his technique, his keyboard touch, and the company he kept on his albums. There is a searching quality to his songs, with titles like “Grace”, “Heartland”, and “Milagro”. His chords are delicate yet powerful, his melodic sense is inventive, and his prodigious technique helps him execute any idea.

In short, his music is beautiful. I’ve had him in to KCRW on several occasions, and have seen him at many local clubs. I follow his work and look forward to any new release, which are far too few.

I had the idea to do this night of jazz piano history, and I am thrilled than Alan is joining me on stage. We have a beautiful new Yamaha C6 Grand piano and it’s a beautiful room. It’s like a luxury living room concert. I hope you can join us.

Monday, May 20, 2013 at 8:00 PM – More Info

New Roads School’s Moss Theater-Leadership Center

3131 Olympic Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90404

Phone: 310-314-4635

What follows is some nice tracks of Alan’s I’m laying down in the KCRW studios. Enjoy them and feel as I do about this gifted artist and educator.