LA Times/San Gabriel Valley Weekly
Two Pasadena jazz pianists worth checking out
Paul Anderson
NOTES FROM THE VALLEY
Pasadena-based pianists David Arnay and Chad Edwards, extremely tasteful jazz players with albums worth finding, are making local appearances soon. Both have college backgrounds that play a large role in shaping their lives.
…
Edwards also has a time problem, though his consists of maintaining two careers. “It was fine until the kids came,” he said, laughing. “Now I find myself in chauffeur mode quite a bit.”
Besides music, Edwards has an interesting day gig. He works at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where his graduate physics work at Caltech comes in handy as a member of the deep space exploration team. Working on the communications ends of things, Edwards helps to decipher and figure out how to receive data from places like Mars.
After going to Princeton University, where he played with guitarist Stanley Jordan, Edwards headed to Caltech for his graduate work and decided to stay because of the local opportunities in music. A co-founder of the fusion band Slow Burn, Edwards also has played with the retro jazz quintet Zen Dadio. When he’s not communicating with distant spacecraft, Edwards can be found playing locally in support of his recent compact disc, “Resolution,” usually mirroring the personnel on the disc – saxophonist Andy Suzuki, drummer Kendall Kay and bassist Dean Taba. The disc, all originals by Edwards except for a pair of classic jazz standards, is one of my favorite releases this year.
A serendipitous pairing of rhythm and melody by an intuitive quartet of players, it is small-group jazz at its finest, relaxed yet cooking. If jazz is to your liking – and I have always believed that the music could be a lot more viable commercially if the rather insular “snob walls” that many jazz purists throw up were to come tumbling down – then check out these two artists. You’ll be glad you did.
Paul Anderson - LA Times