Beverly Ritz: Home
BUDDY AND ME HAS ALREADY RECEIVED AIRPLAY ON JAZZ INSIDE OUT ON KLCC!!!!!
BEVERLY RITZ INTERVIEW ABOUT BUDDY AND ME ON KCUP.NET!!!!
"You certainly are a world-class musician. Your music reminds me of Marian McPartland, George Shearing, Herbie Hancock, and McCoy Tyner!"
Phil M, jazz musician who attended Earth Day concert at Kathy Parsons
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"It was a glorious afternoon in Florence, weather-wise and musically!"
Kathy Parsons, www.mainlypiano.com, House Concert Producer in Florence, Oregon
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"You found your calling, and your soul is planted deep in every song."
Robin Stein, fan in Miami, Florida
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*****These comments represent the kind of appreciation Beverly Ritz has been receiving in 2012!!
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ON MAY !5th, BEVERLY WAS INTERVIEWED BY MIKAELA NORVAL ON KCUP RADIO! You can hear the interview detailing the inspirations behind the songs of Buddy and Me! Go to www.kcup.net and listen to the Lincoln City Art Beat Show!
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ON SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 19, 2012, BEVERLY WILL PERFORM HER 3rd SOLO PIANO JAZZ CONCERT AT THE LINCOLN CITY (OREGON) CULTURAL CENTER!
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*ON MAY 30,2012 BEVERLY WILL BE INTERVIEWED BY BRIDGETTE LEWIS FOR 90 MINUTES ON COFFEE TALK JAZZ RADIO!! TUNE IN FOR THIS EXTRAORDINARY BROADCAST AT 7 P.M. PST!!
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On December 17, 2011, Beverly Ritz brought her unique piano jazz to the Waldport, Oregon Community Center where she dazzled a new group of fans with Christmas songs and jazz classics embracing harmonies never heard before. Also, Beverly performed 6 of her works with The Lighthouse Children's Choir. And... absolutely amazing cakes & pies from www.crescentcitydesserts.com in New Orleans completed the wonderful event!
The evening's tune list:
"My Favorite Things"
"Angels We Have Heard on High"
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" (with choir)
"Away in a Manger" (with choir)
"The First Noel" (with choir)
"Oh, Come All Ye Faithful"
"Take Five"
"Simple Gifts"
"What Child is This?" (with Chris Painter, vocalist)
"Joy to the World" (with choir)
"Silent Night" (with choir)
"Jingle Bell Blues" (with choir, new lyrics by Beverly Ritz)
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
"Joy to the World" (with audience)
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Beverly and the Lighthouse Children's Choir performed jazzy Christmas music for the Waldport, Oregon Lions' Club December 6 and received many accolades! They also performed for the Sea-Aire residents in Yachats, Oregon Saturday afternoon, December 3, 2011, and were greatly appreciated.
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150 piano jazz fans filled the auditorium of the Lincoln City Cultural Center in Lincoln City, Oregon on July 30th to hear Beverly Ritz's jazz classics arrangements and her elegant original music.
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Photo of Beverly at the piano on the LCCC stage, by Dean Ingram, 7-30-2011
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"Your concert was a huge success for the Lincoln City Cultural Center. It's the most money they've raised at one benefit. Keep the exquisite music coming. It is the voice of your beautiful soul."
Mikaela Norval, Former Executive Director of The Lincoln City Cultural Center
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"You are truly an inspiration to jazz lovers everywhere."
Al Evans, d.j. of Saturday Night Jazz at KMHD in Portland, OR
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"Beverly, thanks for a wonderful afternoon of great jazz!!"
Dan Mandish, jazz vocalist in Portland, OR/guest at Beverly's 4-16 performance
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"The concert was WONDERFUL!!"
Carol Parsons, audience member at 2-27-11 Florence concert
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Beverly's performance on April 16, 2011 was an Arbor Day celebration in Southshore, Oregon. The music Miss Ritz chose for this special performance focused on songs about trees ("Poinciana" and "Under the Redwood Trees"), songs about spring ("It Might as Well Be Spring," "Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most," "By Rowdy Creek," and "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning"), AND songs about cats. The host of the occasion, Darrell Hadley, has two cats, Bandit and Cody, who seem genuinely enthused by Beverly's cat songs. And so she played The Jetty Cat Song ("At the Jetty"), "Poor Mister Gray," and "The Cat in the Forest."
~Following in Marian McPartland's footsteps,(www.npr.org/programs/piano-jazz/), Beverly Ritz is truly on a mission to preserve and perform jazz classics and to introduce new compositions to jazz fans all over the world.~
On Sunday, February 27, 2011, in her second house concert at Kathy Parsons' inspiring home in Florence, Oregon, Beverly Ritz achieved a personal record with a flawless performance of some of the most challenging jazz standards and original compositions.
The two-set performance of Miss Ritz's newest arrangements was presented with a relaxed confidence and muscularity like never before.
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Beverly Ritz has recorded 3 CDs, and the most recent album is LACEY MAE. After all 9 tracks were broadcast on Saturday Night Jazz on KMHD (www.kmhd.org) in Portland, Oregon, the station has put this soothing solo piano album in general rotation!
And Curt's Cafe WebJazz Radio, a popular 24/7 Live365 jazz station on the Internet, has added "Little Sunflower" and "Naima" to its play list!! Listen to Curtis Davenport's serious jazz selections at www.live365.com/stations/curtjazz?
Howard Sharper, the Program Director of NPR station WUCX at Delta College in Michigan, is a dedicated friend of jazz & blues, and has added LACEY MAE to the play list! WUCX can be streamed on the web by going to: www.delta.edu/broadcasting/ Then hit "On-line jazz."
From the 5 Star review by Kathy Parsons on www.mainlypiano.com: LACEY MAE is the latest recording by Northern California's Beverly Ritz. A blending of "west coast cool" and "modern impressionism," Ritz's nine solo piano tracks are made up of six jazz standards and three original pieces. The songs are vey different from each other, but Ritz gives them all a "cool" and relaxing treatment that creates a consistently pleasant mood from start to finish. Some of her unusual chord voicings add spice to her arrangements, but there are no jarring discordances or "acid" moments..... Ritz begins with Freddie Hubbard's "Little Sunflower." Its gentle rhythm and languid pace set the tone of the album. The left hand creates the feeling of a lazy breeze that causes the "head" of the sunflower to dance along in an unhurried and carefree way. Ritz's arrangement of "Summertime" is slinky and wonderful. You can almost feel the humidity coming through the notes! John Coltrane's "Naima" is graceful, reflective, and beautiful...
From LACEY MAE's introduction by renowned jazz critic Scott Yanow: Her picturesque music features original chord voicings. Her solos are rhythmic, have a forward momentum, are often cinematic, and could accurately be called poetry without words. Her accessible and haunting style will appeal to many listeners and she has the potential to become a household name.
Award-winning designer/engineer Charles Pell exclaims: Now you have really done it, big time! The album (LACEY MAE) is a jewel beyond belief--it's truly gorgeous and I love it!