As seen and heard on: and

The Skinny: Acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, author and educator Bradley Sowash has delighted listeners of all ages in concert halls and churches throughout the United States and Europe for over two decades. His emotional style and formidable technique have prompted favorable reviews in national publications including The Village Voice and Billboard Magazine among others. His broadcast credits include national radio airplay on NPR’s "Morning Edition" among others and he has been a regular guest on the PBS-TV series, The Piano Guy since its inception. His publications include several volumes of jazz hymn arrangements published by Augsburg Fortress Press and educational jazz piano books published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company and Houston Enterprises. See My Story for a first person account.

The Rest of the Story:
Concert Description
Roaming somewhere on the musical spectrum between Ellington's playfulness and Beethoven's romanticism, pianist Bradley Sowash's music has been categorized as contemporary jazz with classical stylings. Every Sowash concert contains a few familiar standards, yet he is most recognized for his innate gift for instilling feelings that words leave untouched into his original compositions. Sowash's commentaries, which reflect his vast and varied experience as a parent, modern dance collaborator, teacher, church musician, sailor, horseman, outdoor enthusiast and world traveler are an integral part of every performance and make his warm, poetic melodies even more accessible to casual listeners. In addition to his concert hall performances, Sowash performs jazz worship services and sacred concerts in churches nationwide.

Recordings
Though the concert experience is vital to Sowash's artistry, he has recorded four critically acclaimed CDs. While on a hiking and fly fishing trip in 1993, Sowash was deeply inspired by the magnitude and variety of American landforms. This experience led to his first recording, Out West, which received favorable reviews in national publications. The sweet experience of raising his two daughters, tempered by the knowledge that they would grow up so fast, inspired his second release, Bittersweet, in 1996. The love of intense outdoor activities that inspired his third album, In the Moment, also caused Sowash to postpone touring following its release when he broke his arm in a fall from an untrained horse. New Age Retailer declared In The Moment "One of the best solo piano albums of 1999." The 2002 release of We Gather Together, which features hymns and spirituals, prompted Solo Piano Publications to declare Sowash, "simply one of the best pianists on the contemporary scene."  Augsburg Fortress Press has published a two-volume set of accompanying sheet music. Outstanding worldwide sales prompted the follow-up release of more jazz hymns arrangements with When Saints Go Marching   and For the Beauty of the Earth in 2004 which is also available in sheet music form.  Sacred Jazz and Spirituals (2005) documents a live concert with his jazz quintet and a 45 voice choir.   Whodunit? features selections from his original score to the mystery ballet of the same name which premiered on March 8, 2007 in a production by BalletMet with choreography by Susan Hadley.

Background After earning his degree in music composition at Ohio State University, Sowash moved to New York City where he worked with many modern dance luminaries including Mark Morris, Meredith Monk and Susan Hadley with whom he collaborated for 10 years. Later, while living abroad, Sowash refined his mainstream jazz piano technique before appreciative audiences in several countries while exploring the roots of concert performance, Alpine skiing and his French heritage. Upon reaching what he affectionately calls the "dogs and babies phase of life," Sowash returned to his native Ohio to raise a family "in the warm embrace of the Midwest" and develop his emerging unique piano style which, while influenced by jazz, remains distinctly his own.

Educator
A well-regarded educator, Sowash is the author of That's Jazz, a three volume jazz piano method published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company. He frequently offers teacher training workshops for piano teachers in conjunction with that series.  He is the director of The Jazz Workshop, a division of Columbus, Ohio’s Chamber Music Connection, in which student jazz combos receive weekly coaching by professional jazz musicians. He also maintains a private studio with students ranging from age 9 to 57 and teaches music skills in the Ohio State University Department of Dance. 

Service to the Field
Sowash currently serves on the board of the Worthington Arts Council in his hometown.  He also regularly appears as a guest speaker and arts consultant offering professional development workshops for fellow artists and teachers. As a panelist for grant applications, he serves art organizations such as the Jazz Masters Awards and several state arts councils. In 2008, he will serve as a panelist on the subject of recreational music making at the Music Teacher's National Association annual conference in Denver, CO.

Awards and Honors
In 1999, he was the featured artist at the Arts Midwest 15-state regional conference in Cleveland, Ohio. He is listed in John Schaefer's book, New Sounds: A Listener's Guide to New Music and in Katherine Teck's Movement to Music. Sowash has received numerous grants from the Ohio Arts Council as well as from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Hazelbaker Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts.

In Sowash's Words... What this is about, really, is doing what I love. I have always known I would be a musician. As a child, I could not distinguish between the terms 'musician' and 'magician.' Not only did they sound alike, but seemed to me to function the same way by bringing people to their sense of awe. Music, for me, is a language that addresses the emotional places we have in common but seldom discuss.

Fun Facts:

• Favorite Pianists: Oscar Peterson because he swings so,so hard, Keith Jarrett for his inimitable technique and rich musical imagination, Lyle Mays for his lyrical touch, Bill Evans for his whole concept of the instrument, Egberto Gismonti for the sheer beauty of his compositions, Vince Guaraldi for his optimism... there are more.

• Biggest Influences: pre-Bush America, life experiences, jazz, Aaron Copland, Gershwin, spirituals, everything I've ever heard... Read more

• Favorite Musical Activity: Writing! Realizing a new idea has come is like accepting a gift. Then, working out that raw idea into a finished composition is incredibly engaging. Sharing the end product with an enthusiastic audience is like the frosting on the cake.

• Most influential books read: Free Play - Stephen Nachmanovitch, Forever We Begin Again - John McQuiston.

• Wants to get better at: playing acoustic bass.

• Favorite Food: Tortilla Chips and HOT Salsa

• Best Thing That Ever Happened: A happy and uncluttered childhood.

• Favorite Spectator Sport: Watching my daughter play volleyball.

• Best Friend: my wife of course - she's the most remarkable person I've ever known.

• Regrets: My knees are too old to become an extreme skier.

• Does not want: Cable television.

• Pets: My dog Sodie who has a song named for him along with Bijou (now deceased) on the Bittesweet CD.  Both of them are shepherd mixes.  Ruby is my rescued Standardbred horse.  I haven't written a song for her yet.  Jesse is our newest, a mixed breed stray who followed us home on a horse ride.

• Hobbies: Jogging, Horseback Riding, Skiing, Mountain Biking.

• Favorite Places: Southern Ohio, Lake Erie, Colorado Rockies.