Walter Beasley
Walter Beasley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Walter Beasley |
| Born | May 24, 1961 |
| Origin | El Centro, California, United States |
| Genres | Smooth Jazz, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, professor, recording artist, performer, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, voice |
| Labels | Shanachie Records Warner Bros. Records Mercury Records Headsup/Affable Records |
| Website | walterbeasley |
Walter Beasley (born May 24, 1961) is an American saxophonist, a professor of music at the Berklee College of Music, and founder of Affable Publishing and Affable Records.
Biography
[edit]Beasley grew up in El Centro, California.[1] By the age of 13 he was singing in Spanish in a band called Los Elegantes, and he played in various bands and performed at clubs throughout middle and high school.[2]
Beasley graduated from Berklee in 1984,[3] and a year later took a short-term teaching position at the same school, which became a permanent career.[1] He is now a professor at the school.[4]
In 1987, he released his first, self-titled, album,[3] and since 1998 has been one of the top ten best-selling African American saxophonists in the world.[4] Having grown up as a fan of R&B and funk and trained in classical and jazz saxophone,[5] his own style falls between contemporary R&B and contemporary jazz,[6] a blend which has been called "smooth jazz".[3]
He is not only an alto and soprano saxophonist and a singer,[7] but also a composer and producer.[5] He is the founder and CEO of Affable Publishing, and the owner of Affable Records.[3]
Discography
[edit]Albums
[edit]| Album | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Beasley | 1987[3] | Polydor/Polygram |
| Just Kickin' It | 1989 | Mercury/Polydor |
| Intimacy | 1992 | Polygram |
| Private Time | 1995[5] | Mercury/Polydor |
| Walter Beasley Live and More | 1996 | Affable Records |
| Tonight We Love | 1997 | Shanachie |
| For Your Pleasure | 1998 | Shanachie |
| Won't You Let Me Love You | 2000 | Shanachie |
| Rendezvous | 2002 | Shanachie |
| Go with the Flow | 2003 | Affable Records |
| Midnight Love | 2003 | Shanachie |
| The Classic R&B Collection | 2004 | Shanachie |
| For Her | 2005[2] | Heads Up |
| Greatest Hits! | 2005 | Shanachie |
| Live | 2006 | Shanachie |
| Ready for Love | 2007[3] | Affable Records |
| Sax Meditations | 2008 | Affable Records |
| Free Your Mind | 2009[8] | Heads Up |
| Backatcha | 2010 | Shanachie[9] |
| Walter Beasley Live – In the Groove | 2010 | Affable Records |
| Live in the Club | 2013 | Walter Beasley |
| Sax Meditations II | 2014 | Affable Records |
| I'm Back | 2015 | Affable Records |
| Blackstreams | 2017 | Walter Beasley |
| Going Home | 2019 | Affable Records |
| Meet Me At My Place | 2022 | Affable Records |
| Lil' Darlin' (single) | 2023 | Affable Records |
| Déjà Vu (single) | 2023 | Affable Records |
| Do You Wanna Dance (Walter's version) ft. Rebecca Jade (single) | 2023 | Affable Records |
| Nice and Easy (Walter's version) ft Najee (single) | 2023 | Affable Records |
| Lovely Day (Live at the Birchmere) ft. Chad Selph (single) | 2024 | Affable Records |
| Silver Lining (Live at the Birchmere) ft. Chad Selph (single) | 2024 | Affable Records |
| Aqui (Live) ft. Kevin Prince (single) | 2024 | Affable Records |
| Nice & Easy (live) ft. Robert Johnson (single) | 2024 | Affable Records |
| Live and Blessed | 2024 | Affable Records |
| Funk Foot (Smooth Jazz Radio Edit) (single) | 2024 | Affable Records |
| Baby That's Backatcha (Re-release) | 2024 | Affable Records |
Charted singles
[edit]| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs [10] |
Smooth Jazz Airplay [11] | |||
| 1987 | "I'm So Happy" | 49 | — | Walter Beasley |
| 1988 | "On the Edge" | 79 | — | |
| 1989 | "Don't Say Goodbye" | 95 | — | Just Kickin' It |
| 1990 | "Just Kickin' It" | 67 | — | |
| 1993 | "If You Ever Loved Someone and Lost" | 63 | — | Intimacy |
| 2005 | "Coolness" | — | 2 | For Her |
| 2007 | "Ready for Love" | — | 1 | Ready for Love |
| 2007 | "Why Not You" | — | 13 | |
| 2009 | "Steady as She Goes" | — | 1 | Free Your Mind |
| 2010 | "Oh Yeah" | — | 3 | |
| 2011 | "Expressway" | — | 19 | Backatcha! |
| 2011 | "The Call" | — | 20 | |
| 2013 | "Groove in You" (live) | — | 14 | Live in the Club |
| 2014 | "Silver Lining" | — | 21 | Sax Meditations ll |
| 2015 | "I'm Back" | — | 1 | I'm Back |
| 2016 | "Hard Work" (Walter Beasley featuring Michael O'Hara) |
— | 17 | |
| 2017 | "Don't Say a Word" | — | 8 | Blackstreams |
| 2017 | "Now What" | — | 18 | |
| 2018 | "Come on Over" | — | 15 | |
| 2018 | "Funky Boy" (Byron Miller featuring Walter Beasley) |
— | 24 | Byron Miller – Psychobass 2 – The Gift |
| 2018 | "Skip to My Lew" | — | 4 | I'm Back |
| 2019 | "The B-Spot" (Byron Miller featuring Walter Beasley) |
— | 2 | Byron Miller – Psychobass 2 – The Gift |
| 2019 | "It's Alright" | — | 3 | Going Home |
| 2020 | "Aqui" | — | 24 | |
| 2020 | "Real Love" (Bryon Miller featuring Stevie Wonder and Walter Beasley) |
— | 22 | Byron Miller – Psychobass 3 – Real Love |
| 2021 | "The Beasley Strut" | — | 16 | Meet Me at My Place |
| 2023 | "Nice and Easy" (Walter Beasley featuring Najee) |
— | 2 | Do You Want to Dance? |
| 2024 | "Funk Foot" (Walter Beasley featuring Phil Davis) |
— | 3 | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. | ||||
DVDs
[edit]Educational
[edit]- Sound Production for the Saxophone (Affable Publishing, 2003)
- Hip-Hop Improvisation (Affable Publishing, 2003)
- Circular Breathing with Walter Beasley
- 14 Steps to Maximizing Your Performance (for Saxophonists)
- Walter Beasley's Performance Workshop
- Walter Beasley presents Vocal Performance
- Improv Using Pentatonics
- Performance Insight
- Playing Blues
- Resolution Warm-Up
- Using Vibrato
- Improvisations and Delivery Clinic
Live
[edit]- Walter Beasley Live at Scullers (Affable Records, 2003)[12]
- Live in the Club (Walter Beasley, 2013)
Books
[edit]- Performance Insight for Musicians
- Nice and Easy Cookbook
- Performance Insight (for Musicians) Vol. II
- Quotes For Grown Folks
APPs
[edit]- Walter Beasley Smooth Jazz Alarm App
- Walter Beasley in Concert Transcriptions
- Music Lessons by Walter Beasley
- Hip hop Improvisation
- Walter Beasley Transcriptions
- Circular Breathing
- Sound Production for Saxophone
- Sax Meditations
Awards and accolades
[edit]- 2001 Boston Music Awards, Outstanding Jazz Artist
- 2001 Berklee College of Music Trustee Award for advancing the mission and values of the college
- 2001 South Middlesex Men's Club Leadership Award for community service and support of youth development in music.
- 2001 SESAC National Performing Activity Award for the song "Comin' at Cha"
- 2002 SESAC National Performing Activity Award for the song "Rendezvous"
- 2003 Boston Music Awards, Jazz Album of the Year (Go With the Flow)[13]
- 2013 Forever Ink Achievement Award
- 2019 Boston Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist
- 2023 Soul Tracks Reader's Choice Award, Instrumentalist for the Year
References
[edit]- ^ a b Beasley, Walter (December 20, 2007). "Walter Beasley's Official Site: Professional Profile". Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ a b Lebovitz, Susan Chaityn (January 22, 2006). "Beasley on the sax". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Cox, Kevin (March 15, 2007). "Boston-based saxophonist helps keep jazz alive". The Boston-Bay State Banner. Vol. 42, no. 31. Archived from the original on June 20, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ a b "Faculty Biography: Walter Beasley". Berklee. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c Rowland, Hobart; Bob Burtman (May 23, 1996). "Saxy Stuff". Houston Press. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ Buckley, Michael (February 5, 2009). "Music Box: Big Head Todd brings heartfelt rock to D.C." HometownAnnapolis.com. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ Lowenthal, Kevin (August 12, 2005). "Onstage, his smoothness turns funky and soulful". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ Joyce, Mike (February 6, 2009). "WALTER BEASLEY "Free Your Mind" Heads Up". The Washington Post. pp. WE07. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ Backatcha! – Walter Beasley | AllMusic
- ^ "Walter Beasley: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.
- ^ "Walter Beasley: Smooth Jazz Airplay". Billboard.
- ^ "Walter Beasley's Official Site | Selected Discography and Equipment". Walterbeasley.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- ^ "Walter Beasley's Official Site | Fact Sheet". Walterbeasley.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
