World class jazz man joins The Y

Years after taking music lessons in Riverdale, Long Island native Ted Rosenthal has returned to the neighborhood as The Riverdale Y’s new artistic director of jazz. 

The jazz pianist, who has performed in both ensembles and as a soloist in venues around the world, was previously artistic director of jazz at the Dicapo Opera Theatre in Manhattan. 

“What’s great about New York and the boroughs is that you have the top jazz musicians in the world who all live right here,” said Mr. Rosenthal. “We’re hoping to find a niche in the Bronx here, since there’s not a lot of jazz being played, as far as we know.” 

Mr. Rosenthal’s first concert at The Y, called “Rhapsody in Gershwin,” is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24. It will feature music by the American composer and include Mr. Rosenthal’s own arrangement of “Rhapsody in Blue.”

It will be a concert close to Mr. Rosenthal’s heart, as his jazz trio’s CD, also called “Rhapsody in Gershwin,” recently reached the top of both iTunes and Amazon.com jazz charts. It is one of 15 CDs he has recorded on. 

Jazz has been an important part of the artistic director’s life since he first began playing piano at the age of 12. 

“I heard the music and loved it,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about much else other than that.”

Trained at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Mr. Rosenthal’s inspirations range from Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk to Herbie Hancock. 

He has performed with jazz greats like Wynton Marsalis; in 1988, he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition; and over the years, he has received three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

“That’s’ a big thing to get a guy like that to come into the Riverdale Y,” said Gerald Goldsmith, a longtime board member of The Y who recruited Mr. Rosenthal for the Artistic Director position. 

After the Gershwin-themed show, Mr. Rosenthal will lead two other spring concerts —the first focused on the swing era, and the second on tenor saxophone. There will be top musicians, many of whom have performed at The 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. 

He hopes future concerts will feature music by artists from the Bronx.