Biography

The pianist

Randy Halberstadt has been a major figure on the Pacific Northwest jazz scene for many years. A multi-dimensional pianist, he is equally at home playing be-bop, Latin, down-home blues, straight-ahead swing, free and eclectic jazz. In addition to leading his own trio and  producing his own recordings (Inner Voice, Clockwork, and Parallel Tracks), he has performed with Herb Ellis, Buddy de Franco, Nick Brignola, Terry Gibbs, Slide Hampton, Pete Christlieb, Bobby Shew, Joe LaBarbera, Lanny Morgan, John Stowell, David Friesen, Kim Richmond, Don Lanphere, Jiggs Whigham, Roswell Rudd, Jack Walrath, Gary Smulyan, Julian Priester, Mel Brown, and many others. Recently, Randy recorded with Bay area guitarist Mimi Fox and the world renowned Ray Drummond on bass. On the local Seattle scene, Randy performs with vibraphonist Susan Pascal, vocalists Gail Pettis, saxophonist Jack Klitzman and many others. He is the pianist for the esteemed Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and has performed repeatedly with the Seattle Symphony.

The accompanist

On the strength of his large repertoire, great sense of swing, and acute listening skills, Randy has established himself as a first-call accompanist for jazz vocalists. He has performed with Sheila Jordan, Rebecca Parris,  Kevin Mahogany, Marlena Shaw, Karrin Allyson, and Ernestine Anderson, as well as with the world-renowned tap dancer Brenda Bufalino. In 1997 Randy performed with the innovative Jay Clayton at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He is featured on Jay's 1997 recording Circle Dancing (Sunnyside). In May 2004, Randy and the fabulous vocalist Meredith d'Ambrosio did a short tour of Israel. Randy works frequently with some of the greatest vocal talents in the Pacific Northwest, including  Gail Pettis, Greta Matassa, and Katy Bourne.

The composer

While Halberstadt's recordings showcase his formidable pianistic skills, they also establish him as a first-rate composer. Inner Voice (1991, Pony Boy Records) features Randy's compositions in the jazz trio format, which range from blues to Latin to polymetric to hard-driving swing. Seattle's KPLU FM has kept Randy's finger-snapper "Bad Bud" in heavy rotation for the past thirteen years. Clockwork (1996, Pony Boy Records) presents Randy's beautiful songs with original lyrics and features five of the Northwest's best vocalists, including Jay Clayton and Kendra Shank. One of these songs, "When Springtime Turns to Fall," was re-recorded in 2000 by Kendra on  Reflections (Jazz Focus), in 2005 by Seattle vocalist Kelley Johnson on Music Is the Magic (Sapphire Records), and was published in 2002 in The All-Jazz Real Book (Sher Music Co.).

The arranger

More recently, Randy has demonstrated his talents as an arranger. He arranged most of the music for Seattle vocalist Janis Mann's recordings, “A Little Moonlight,” “Lost In His Arms,” and “So Many Stars” (Pancake Records) and for Greta Matassa’s recording “All This And Heaven Too—Live at Bake’s Place” (Origin Records). At the Kennedy Center concert, Jay Clayton and her quintet performed Randy's arrangement of the haunting ballad "The Sweetest Sounds." Randy has just issued a new recording of unique standard arrangements, Parallel Tracks (Origin Records).

The teacher

While Randy continues to expand his talents as a pianist, composer, and arranger, he takes equal pleasure in helping younger musicians fulfill their potential. As a full professor at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Randy teaches jazz theory, vocal standards, and private lessons. He also serves on the faculties of the Blaine Jazz Festival in Blaine, Washington and the Centrum Jazz Workshop in Port Townsend, Washington (both in July). Randy is available for concerts and clinics.

The author

In 2001 Randy wrote a book called Metaphors For The Musician: Perspectives from a Jazz Pianist. Since its release it has garnered rave reviews from top professionals, readers, and the press alike. Intended for both instrumentalists and vocalists, it deals with almost all aspects of musicianship, including improvisation, theory, piano, and professional requirements. (Read some excerpts here.) The book is published by the Sher Music Company and is available at select music stores nationwide and online at www.shermusic.com.

The person

Randy lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife Chris. Their daughter Robin is working on a Masters in Public Policy at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Randy's parents, Pat and Jeff Halberstadt, live in Dallas. He has two older brothers, Gregg (in Michigan) and Joel (in Florida). A moderate health nut and avid juicer, Randy enjoys movies (preferably with car chases), Seattle sports teams (when they're winning), and science books (that don't require any real knowledge of science).

Randy was born in New York in 1953 and moved to Texas in 1961, where he played trombone in junior high and high school. In 1971 he moved to Seattle to study oceanography at the University of Washington. It was during this time that he began playing piano. After one year at UW, Randy switched his major to music and specifically trombone--but by graduation (B.A. in Music, 1976) his love of the piano had finally persuaded him to switch instruments. After a few years of lessons (primarily with Seattle's jazz piano "sensei" Jerome Gray), performing in local clubs, and teaching privately, Randy joined the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle in 1983. Since then he has continued to develop as a musician, a teacher, and (more recently) a writer.

Occasionally Randy will even take a break from music to go on vacation with his wife Chris. Click here to see some amazing photos of their recent trip to Israel and Egypt. Or if you have no life, you can view some terribly repetitive photos of their 2008 kitchen remodel!

The hustler!

In addition to concerts and club appearances, Randy enjoys playing weddings, parties, and other functions. If you have such an event coming up and would like him to perform (solo, duo, trio, or other), or if you'd like to plan a special "house concert," e-mail him at randy@randyhalberstadt.com.

Randy has three other websites: origin-records.com, worldjazzscene.com, and ponyboyrecords.com.