Biography
“Paster’s hands have an infectious percussive exuberance.”
(Dan McClenaghan , AllAboutJazz.com March, 2005)
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Bennett Paster- keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, engineer and educator- is renown in the NYC music scene as a creative and versatile musician. Equally well-versed on acoustic and electric keyboards and fluent in genres from jazz to roots, rock to country and Latin to Brazilian, Paster’s expressive style and impeccable musicianship are in high-demand.
In a music career spanning more than three decades, Paster has toured internationally, including appearances with KJ Denhert in Italy at Umbria Jazz Festival and throughout Israel, and and he’s taught and played in Europe, Central and South Asia, and Central and South America and the Caribbean as part of the prestigious US State Dept. / Jazz at Lincoln Center “American Music Abroad” program. Paster is a long-standing faculty member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University, and was a finalist in the Great American Jazz Piano competition in Jacksonville, Florida.
Paster has performed with eminent jazz and blues stars, including: Wallace Roney, Keb Mo, Robben Ford, Kurt Elling, Curtis Stigers, Rufus Reid, Bill Stewart, Billy Hart, Peter Erskine, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Ndugu Chancler and Yosvany Terry, and cabaret/Broadway stars Christine Ebersole, Ann Hampton Calloway, Melissa Ericco, and Michael Cerveris.
From acoustic trio to Latin jazz sextet, organ trio to larger funk band, Paster has led or co-led a diverse body of ensembles; he has released nine albums, each showcasing his talents in composing, performing and engineering. In addition to being sought out as a featured artist and a sideman, Paster operates Wash n’ Dry Studio, a boutique recording facility in Brooklyn, where he regularly produces albums with award-winning artists in a wide range of musical genres.
Bennett Paster’s latest album, Radiance (2023), is an exuberant expression of the jazz piano trio tradition: “Music at the Crossroads of Beauty and Groove.” Synthesizing elements of soul jazz, boogaloo, blues, and funk, with singable melodies and a touch of modern harmony, the music is satisfyingly listenable while still substantial and genuine. Paster’s all-original compositions run the gamut from understated to joyous. His fluent pianism, distinctive musical voice, and effortless melodicism ring true as his trio reinvents and carries the jazz tradition into the future.
Discography, as a leader or co-leader:
2001 Grupo Yanqui (Bennett Paster & Gregory Ryan)
2001 The Undoing (Organic!)
2004 Skyline (Paster, Ryan & Hall)
2006 Invisible Horizon (Paster, Ryan & Hall)
2006 Sweets (Organic!)
2008 Grupo Yanqui Rides Again (Bennett Paster & Gregory Ryan)
2012 Relentless Pursuit of the Beautiful (Bennett Paster)
2019 Indivisible (Bennett Paster)
2023 Radiance (Bennett Paster)
(Updated 10/11/2023)