Adrien H. Tillmann photo
Pianist, composer, and educator Dave Meder is one of the prominent artists of his generation, known for a broad musical palette recognized in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, the American Pianists Awards, and the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commissioning program. His defining aesthetic is a strikingly postmodern sense of stylistic adventure, incorporating what All About Jazz describes as “a vibrant hybrid of the whole American spectrum.” His first album Passage was counted among the top five jazz debuts in the Ottawa Citizen and was included in the annual “Favorite Jazz Albums” list from All Music Guide, noted for its skillful balancing of “post-bop harmonies with soulful gospel warmth and contemporary classical sophistication.” His second release Unamuno Songs and Stories used the works of Spanish Civil War-era philosopher Miguel de Unamuno to respond to sociopolitical turmoil in the United States, while his latest release New American Hymnal continues a musical exploration of American civic and religious culture. Meder has headlined stages or conducted educational residencies at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, as well as internationally in Beijing, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, and most recently Egypt as a US Fulbright Scholar. Dave is a Yamaha Artist and a professor at University of North Texas.
Dave Meder (piano), Philip Dizack (trumpet), Marty Jaffe (bass), Michael Piolet (drums)
“Rivers in the Desert” is a set of new works for quartet, celebrating the life-giving power of the earth/soil ecosystem and its potential to mitigate climate change and generate sustainable food sources. Commissioned by the Chamber Music America 'New Jazz Works' program, the music was inspired by composer Dave Meder's own journey of terraforming the infertile desert clay in his Texas backyard into a biodiverse garden.