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Jed Distler (December 8, 1956 - ) is an American composer and pianist.
As a virtuoso pianist Distler has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Kitty Brazelton, Lois V. Vierk, Wendy Mae Chambers, Simeon ten Holt, Richard Rodney Bennett, Alvin Curran, Andrew Thomas and Virko Baley. He as performed at Berkeley Arts Center, Berkeley CA; Piedmont Piano Company, Oakland CA; Winchester Arts Center, Las Vegas, NV; Colorado College, Colorado Springs CO; Denver University, Denver CO; Winter Garden/World Financial Center, New York NY; Rites of Summer Music Festival, Governors Island NY (20110; Sunshine Coast Arts Centre, Sechelt, British Columbia; Jermyn Street Theatre, London UK; Chiostro di S. Francesco in Sorrento, and at the Ravello in Italy. Distler studied classical piano with Stanley Lock and William Komaiko. Dick Hyman, Hank Jones and Bill Evans were important mentors in Distler's early years when he played jazz for a living.
Perhaps Jed’s best known compositions are the toy piano suite “Landscapes” for Peter Wyer recorded by Margaret Leng Tan; the “Mister Softee Variations” (String Quartet No. 1), based upon the ubiquitous ice cream truck jingle; and his one-minute condensation of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, recorded by Guy Livingston. Jed’s two-piano suite “Loose Changes” was commissioned and recorded by Quattro Mani for Bridge. You also can find his work on the Decca, Point, Nonesuch, ASV, Naxos, Argo, CRI and Musical Concepts labels. Recent theatrical forays include a collaboration with director Arnold Barkus and playwright Ed Schmidt on “The Gold Standard,” an evening-length piano theater project. Distler began his formal studies of composition at the Julliard Pre-College with Lawrence Widdoes and Andrew Thomas. At Sarah Lawrence College he continued his studies as an undergraduate with Joel Spigelman and David Maslanka.
Distler has received grants from ASCAP, Meet the Composer, American Composers Forum, and a McDowell Colony residency. He a member of ASCAP, and a Yamaha Artist.
As artistic director for the New Music presenting organization ComposersCollaborative, inc. since its inception in 1987 (www.composerscollab.org), he created the innovative Solo Flights and Non Sequitur festivals, along with the long-running new music variety show Serial Underground at New York’s landmark Cornelia Street Café.
Formerly on the faculty at Sarah Lawrence College where he served as the theater department’s musical director for more the two decades, Jed also has participated in teaching residencies at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, West Park Presbyterian Church, Colorado College, Denver University, and the Lucerne Conservatory of Music.
A host and programmer for Q2/New York Public Radio keyboard show Hammered!, Jed also is known for his regular music reviews in Gramophone (where he maintains the blog Piano Notes) and Classicstoday.com, plus his CD/DVD booklet annotations. He gained notoriety in 2007 for helping uncover the scandal exposing hundreds of recordings fraudulently recited to pianist Joyce Hatto, and was featured in a television documentary on the subject.
Jed is a member of ASCAP, and a Yamaha Artist.
Other Sources
edit- The New York Times Music Review. "Summertime Anarchy, but of the Guided Kind" by Steve Smith, July 3, 2011: Rite of Summer Festival on Governors Island, 2011
- The New York Time Music Review. "Celebrating With a Democratic Spirit" by Allan Kozinn, June 22, 2010: Make Music New York
- The New York Times Music-Theater Review | 'Serial Underground' "Faux Underwater Singing and a Sit-Down Comic at an Upright Piano" By Anne Midgette, August 18, 2005: Serial Underground Festival
- The New York Times Music Review "Memorials and Reveries in a Cozy Cabaret Setting" by Zachary Woolfe, August 22, 2011: CCi's Mano-a-Mano Piano Festival
- The New York Times Reviews/Music "A Pianist Juxtaposes Charles Ives and Art Tatum" by John Rockwell, March 26, 1990: Mention of Distler's transcription of Art Tatum's solos
- The New York Times Music Review A Little Lascivious Music (Send in Attila the Hun)‘Vienna to Weimar,’ K T Sullivan and Karen Kohler at Triad by Stephen Holden, October 21, 2012: Jed Distler accompanies on piano
- The New York Times Music Review | 'Serial Underground' "Stirring Composers, Musicians and Theater Artists Into a Stew" By Steve Smith, June 13, 2007: CCi's Serial Underground music salon