Ted Nash (born December 28, 1960) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer. Born into a musical family, his uncle was saxophonist Ted Nash and his father is trombonist Dick Nash, both prominent jazz soloists and first call Hollywood studio musicians.[1][2][3] Nash is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra directed by Wynton Marsalis. He is one of the founders of the Jazz Composers Collective.[4]
Ted Nash | |
|---|---|
 Sherman Irby, Ted Nash, and Victor Goines, Lyon, France, 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | December 28, 1960 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader |
| Instrument(s) | Saxophone, multireedist |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | Concord Jazz, Mapleshade, Elabeth, Arabesque, Palmetto, Motéma |
| Website | TedNash.com |
Music career
editNash grew up in Los Angeles. His father is trombonist Dick Nash and his uncle was saxophonist Ted Nash. Both were big band veterans, jazz soloists and session musicians who worked regularly with Henry Mancini and Les Brown. The younger Nash began his career on piano when he was seven, clarinet when he was 12, and alto saxophone at 13. When he was 16, he played for one week with Lionel Hampton and the following year was playing saxophone with Quincy Jones, Louis Bellson, and Don Ellis. When he was 18, he moved to New York City and became a member of the Gerry Mulligan Big Band. During the same year, he released his debut album, Conception (Concord Jazz, 1978).[3]
In the 1980s, he worked with vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake, who had been one of his teachers. He was a member of the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, for whom he played saxophone and wrote arrangements. In 1990s, he performed and recorded as sideman with Wynton Marsalis, Joe Lovano, and Ben Allison. After Allison's invitation, he joined the Herbie Nichols Project, a band which played the music of pianist Nichols.[3]
Nash has been a composer, arranger, producer, conductor, and writer of liner notes. As a performer, he is a multireedist who has recorded on soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and piccolo.[5]
Compositions
editPortrait in Seven Shades is a seven-movement suite dedicated to seven modern painters: Claude Monet, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Marc Chagall, and Jackson Pollock.[6] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award.[7]
Nash's album Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom (Motéma, 2016) consists of Nash's compositions interwoven with historic political speeches by Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Aung San Suu Kyi. The speeches are read by Sam Waterston, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Lieberman, and Glenn Close.[8] In 2017, Presidential Suite won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
Discography
editAs leader
edit- Conception (Concord Jazz, 1980)
- Out of This World (Mapleshade 1993)
- European Quartet (Elabeth, 1994)
- Rhyme & Reason (Arabesque, 1999) – rec. 1998
- Sidewalk Meeting (Arabesque, 2001) – rec. 2000
- Still Evolved (Palmetto, 2003)
- La Espada de la Noche (Palmetto, 2005)
- In the Loop (Palmetto, 2006)
- The Mancini Project (Palmetto, 2008)
- The Creep (Plastic Sax, 2012)
- Chakra (Plastic Sax, 2013)
- Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom (Motéma, 2016) – rec. 2014
- Somewhere Else: West Side Story Songs (Plastic Sax, 2019) – rec. 2018
- Transformation with Glenn Close (Tiger Turn, 2021)
As a member
edit- The Definitive Thad Jones (Limelight, 1989)
- The Definitive Thad Jones Volume 2 - Live From The Village Vanguard (Limelight, 1990)
- Love Is Proximity (Soul Note, 1996)
- Dr. Cyclops' Dream (Soul Note, 1999)
- Strange City (Palmetto, 2001)
- Live in Swing City – Swingin' with Duke (Columbia, 1999)
- A Love Supreme (Palmetto, 2005)
- Don't Be Afraid...The Music of Charles Mingus (Palmetto, 2005)
- Portrait in Seven Shades (Jazz at Lincoln Center, 2010)[9]
- Vitoria Suite (2010)
As sideman
edit|
With Ben Allison
With Louie Bellson
With Don Ellis
With Wycliffe Gordon
With Wynton Marsalis
|
With others
|
References
edit- ^ Liner notes to The Brothers Nash, Liberty Records LJH 6022
- ^ "Ted Nash Biography". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- ^ a b c Henderson, Alex. "Ted Nash". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ Adler, David. "Jazz Composers Collective". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Ted Nash | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ Ackermann, Karl (25 August 2016). "Ted Nash Big Band: Presidential Suite (Eight Variations on Freedom)". All About Jazz. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Grammy Award-Nominated Composer and Arranger To Premiere Two Compositions at Scranton | Royal News: November 26, 2019". news.scranton.edu.
- ^ Auerbach, Brad (21 October 2016). "Digital Tip Jar: Jazz Maestro Ted Nash Opines on Spotify and Presidential Discourse". Forbes. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Grammy award-winning Jazz saxophonist improvises to famous paintings". KCRW. 19 July 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Martin (5 November 2018). "'Quiet Revolution' by Ben Allison Review: Blast From the Past". Wall Street Journal.