Huntingdon Valley's Jeff Baumeister embraces avant-garde jazz...

By Kyle Schulz, Oct. 25, 2006
© Montgomery Newspapers

Discovering the jazz greats when he studied at Bucks County Community College, Jeff Baumeister found his new calling there and the challenging avant-garde jazz style he still enjoys playing.

What is it about avant-garde jazz that appeals to people?
The awkward tempos, the jagged rhythms and outright madness of the genre may seem too challenging for most listeners, but as Huntingdon Valley resident and jazz pianist Jeff Baumeister explains, the trick is to please the ear while forcing listeners to explore new realms of music.

"It always has to be appealing to the ear," Baumeister said. "But the theory behind it is to actually push your ear into new territories."

In other words, it has to grow on you. For many fans, avant-garde jazz seems like a fresh burst of air to the tired arrangements of contemporary music. But despite the apparent randomness of the music, Baumeister said there are actually underlying structures to his music, with a fair share of improvisation spread throughout. "I give players a series of notes to use as a starting point and an atmosphere to work in," he explained. And like many jazz compositions, Baumeister never plays a song the same way twice. Although on the surface his music seems to stem from the same vein as avant-garde pioneers such as Sun Ra, Baumeister creates his experimental compositions with a dose of conventional songwriting methods. "It's a combination of 20th century classical techniques and free jazz," he said. Baumeister's composition, 'The Realization of a Line' uses the twelve tone technique, introduced by classical composer Arnold Schonberg, as the basis for collective improvisation. Besides Schonberg, Baumeister also borrows compositional techniques from Paul Hindemith and Vincent Persichetti.

Although he spent most of his young life playing music in grade-school bands and exploring different instruments, Baumeister didn't find his true calling until he began attending Bucks County Community College in the 1980s. It was there that he met professors Uri Caine, Tom Lawton and Sam Bellardo, who introduced him to the vast piano repertoire of Bach through Hindemith and the music of jazz greats such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Baumeister immediately became obsessed and went searching for as many records as he could.

"That's all I wanted was to hear more of that stuff," he said. "The biggest influences I have are from my teachers at Bucks." But Baumeister soon found himself drawn to the complex and sometimes strange world of avant-garde. "It was out of the norm," he said. "It wasn't the regular stuff you would hear. There's a unique sort of tension and release involved with that music. As a player and listener you have let go of your expectations and just let it happen. It's just a different experience."

After going on to earn a master's degree at the University of the Arts , Baumeister returned to Bucks County Community College in 2003 to work as a part-time jazz teacher and inspire a new generation of fans and musicians. "I really find a strong connection with the students and the whole idea that Bucks gave me so much that I now have the opportunity to give back," he said.
The same year, Baumeister formed the Jeff Baumeister Quartet with drummer Dan Capecchi, bassist Peter Paulsen and saxophonist Greg Riley, who released their album ’Useful Music’ in 2005. The album, with its collection of trippy jazz explorations, received heaps of praise from the Philadelphia Inquirer, All About Jazz and Cadence magazine, as well as from his old professors. Read reviews from All About Jazz and Jazz CD Reviews .


Baumeister will perform songs from his album during the four-day Slought Jazz Fest this week in Philadelphia. The festival will also feature performances by Steve Beskrone Group, the Cliftones, the Chance Trio and others. For Baumeister, the concert offers him a chance to showcase his compositions in a city which he says has a huge, thriving jazz community. "People who go out to perform are playing a standard repertoire and don't have the opportunity to venture on their own," he said. "But with the festival, performers are encouraged to display their own original work."

IF YOU GO
Jeff Baumeister
will be performing
at the Slought Jazz Fest,
at the Slought Foundation,
4017 Walnut St., Philadelphia,
Saturday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $15 or $45
for a four-day pass.
Info: 215-222-9050
or www.slought.org

Reprinted by permission. Much thanks to Frank Quattrone.
© 2006 Montgomery Newspapers