Walter Beasley

Walter Beasley is the bee’s knees when it comes to smooth jazz. He knows his jazz scales backwards and forwards, and presents them in a seemingly effortless manner. Every approach he takes in his performance is presented with incredible proficiency and skill.

Walter Beasley is always note for note during his performance, and conveys the smoothest timbre through his saxophone. His saxophone playing is about as smooth as Kenny G, but he often delves into the more experimental side of jazz. His backing band is also phenomenal and adds the perfect accent to Walter Beasley’s music. His drummer and bass player lay down steady rhythms to keep the music on the right tempo. The bass playing is very deep and rich, and conveys a boldness that defines the backbone of the song. His guitarist plays in a very clean tone and incorporates guitar sweeps that makes the music feel breezy. The pianist often plays a piano that sounds similar to a Fender Rhodes, which conveys a bell like quality to the sound. Walter Beasley’s saxophone playing is always at the forefront of the music, conveying the kind of jive that make the audience members want to get up and dance.

Not only is Walter Beasley a talented performer, but he is also well regarded professor at the Berklee College of Music. He also attended Berklee before teaching there, and was trained in jazz and classical music. Walter Beasley has a diverse range of styles and is also known to incorporate R&B and Funk into his music. His setlists are often diverse containing some of his original songs as well as some covers of classic standards. Walter Beasley is always staying busy whether he is teaching, putting out records on his label, Affable Records, or touring around to soothe people’s souls with his smooth jazz.

One of my friends and I saw Walter Beasley at South restaurant in Philadelphia. Walter Beasley is one of my favorite artists so naturally, I was excited to see him live. What I really appreciated was the fact that he played his saxophone and also sang. He has a beautiful voice and sounds just as good live as he does on his recordings. He did a couple of tribute songs to other artists, and his ability to make a classic song his own is remarkable. These were my favorite aspects about the event.

However, I have to admit I was a little disappointed that it only lasted for about one hour and a half. As well, he has so many beautiful songs in his repertoire that I'd hoped he would have performed more of his own music in favor of the tribute songs.

All in all, I would go see him again as he is still one of my favorite artists.

As always it was a great jam session with one of the greatest sax player today we enjoyed ourselves can't wait for the next one we will be back for the Kim Waters and Keiko Matsui shows

Walter, it was good to see you again. The last I saw of you was at the Smooth Jazz Festival in San Diego California. I had a good time and look forward to see you again soon.