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| Ted Kooshian Releases Standard Orbit Quartet Pianist/Composer Ted Kooshian releases new CD, “Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet" On Summit Records. Ted Kooshian's new release Standard Orbit Quartet is a brilliant and witty approach to the jazz genre while giving high praise to older Television and Movie themes. Kooshian's selections of familiar visual themes are coupled here with some rock classics (Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, The Police) as well. The Standard Orbit Quartet is made up of Ted Kooshian (piano) Jeff Lederer (saxophones, clarinets) Tom Hubbard (bass) & Warren Odze (drums, percussion). A native of sunny California, San Francisco Bay Area, Ted Kooshian has been living in New York since 1987. Since then he has apportioned his time among jazz gigs, composing, Broadway pits, tours, recording, and club dates. In the New York area, Ted has performed at Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theater, the Rainbow Room, BB King's, Birdland, and Jones Beach. He has played for several Broadway shows, including “The Lion King," “Mamma Mia," and “Spamalot." He has played at the Detroit Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, Sun Valley Jazz Festival, and the Panasonic Jazz Festival; also jazz festivals in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. He has been to all the continents on our planet except for Antarctica. He once played a jam session with Frank Foster at the former Latvian Prime Minister's house. In 1986 he had Easter dinner on the South Pacific island of Tonga, as a guest of the prince. Once he was kidnapped in Manila, the Philippines, and he once broke his right foot in Bahia, Brazil. He has toured or played in concert with Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, Toni Braxton, Marvin Hamlisch, Sarah Brightman, and “Blood, Sweat, and Tears." He plays occasionally as a guest with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. A couple of the more unique vocalists Ted has accompanied on piano are Meryl Streep and manager Tommy LaSorda. Ted is a member of several current New York bands including The Ed Palermo Big Band, Rick Wald's NYC/16, and Judy Barnett's Jazz-a-teria. Ted Kooshian's name is engraved on the two microchips of the STARDUST spacecraft, which was sent into space to return a sample from a comet (the first such sample returned). write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |