Jazz Pianist Peter Beets Tours the US with New Gershwin Album

End of April, jazz pianist Peter Beets returns to the east coast to present his new album Our Love Is Here To Stay: Gershwin Reimagined, for which he collaborated with Eric Kennedy (drums) and Tom Baldwin (double bass). Performances will take place in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, and Gladwyne. Read the full schedule below.

Peter Beets about his album:

“With this, my latest album celebrating the timeless melodies of one of America’s and the world’s greatest composers, I have the chance to showcase it all – classical, blues, jazz, Latin, and folk music! This is the legacy of George Gershwin who continues to inspire musicians of every persuasion and instrument – and of course, me.

Nobody made music more accessible than the great Gershwin. To this day – and for all time – his music resonates with and relates to people of every culture and walk of life. No other composer brings together such diverse cultures and musical forms, blending art and entertainment, while connecting artists and listeners in ways that effortlessly transcend generational divides and perspectives.

It is a great honor and pleasure to reinterpret some of George Gershwin’s most celebrated compositions and in ways that I hope highlight his incomparable genius, while presenting them in fresh and imaginative styles.

Truly, we will never say “goodbye” to this greatest of 20th-century composers. As this recording makes clear – Our Love is Here to Stay!”

Tracks

01 Our Love Is Here To Stay
02 I Loves You, Porgy
03 Embraceable You
04 ‘S Wonderful
05 I’ve Got A Crush On You
06 Summertime
07 How Long Has This Been Going On?
08 They Can’t Take That Away From Me
09 Lady, Be Good!

Schedule

April 24, 7:3o pm
The Netherland Club of New York
65 West 54th Street, New York
Tickets

April 25, 8:00 pm
Mezzrow Jazz Club
163 W 10th St, New York
Tickets

April 30, 8:00 pm
Dunwoody Village
3500 Wester Chester Pike, Newton Square, Philadelphia

May 1, 8:00 pm
Dutch Embassy
4200 Linnean Ave NW, Washington

May 2, 6:00 pm
Center Club
100 Light St #16, Baltimore

May 3, 5:00 pm
Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia
Free with museum admission

May 6, 8:00 pm
Blues Alley
1073 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington
Tickets

May 7, 8:00 pm
Waverly Heights
1400 Waverly Road, Gladwyne, PA

"Straight ahead excellence. A world class jazz act." Down Beat

© Piet Gispen

About Peter Beets

As one of the most sought-after jazz artists of our time, Peter Beets has attracted a devoted international audience, performing regularly at major jazz festivals and venues throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. He has shared the stage with jazz greats such as Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, “Toots” Thielemans, Elvin Jones, George Coleman, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson and Kurt Rosenwinkel. One of his earliest recordings, “First Date” (1996), featured the great Jeff Hamilton on drums. In 2001 the Criss Cross label invited Peter for a series of CDs with his “New York Trio”, inviting artists like Willie Jones III, Larry Grenadier and Greg Hutchinson, earning him international acclaim.

From birth, Peter was surrounded by music: Classical from his mother who is a music pedagogue, and Jazz from his father who instilled in his son his own great love of Oscar Peterson and Art Blakey. His brothers Marius (1966) and Alexander (1968) also became professional musicians, double bass and tenor saxophone respectively. Since 1985, the brothers have performed together as “The Beets Brothers”.

In 1988 Peter was awarded the prestigious Pall Mall Swing Award, and a year later the Princess Christina Award. In 1998 he completed his conservatory studies, winning the Prix Martial Solal in Paris. In the same year, he became the featured pianist with “The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw”. The following year, he produced a live recording with jazz legend Curtis Fuller and was also awarded the Concours de Solistes de Jazz in Monaco.

In 2010 Peter was awarded an Edison (Dutch equivalent of the Grammy) for the album “Blues for the Date”, with his original compositions, accompanied by “The Jazzorchestra of the Concertgebouw”. In the same year, he returned to New York to record his 5th album for Criss Cross, “Chopin meets the Blues”, featuring Peter’s original jazz arrangements of many of the composer’s most celebrated works. In 2013, Peter recorded his long-awaited tribute album to one of his biggest idols, Oscar Peterson, entitled, “Portrait of Peterson.” The recording was nominated for an Edison Prize, as was a 2015 recording featuring live performances of his Chopin arrangements. Later that year, he began touring with newly-orchestrated arrangements for full-size big band, “Chopin Meets the Blues Goes Big!” Currently Peter performs with an all-star group featuring jazz pioneers Han Bennink and Ruud Jacobs, alongside altosaxofonist Benjamin Herman.

Recently Peter Beets produced a brand-new trio recording with bassist Tom Baldwin and drummer Eric Kennedy, called ‘Our Love Is Here to Stay, Gershwin reimagined’.