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Rod
B
j
azz
"Rod Blumenau can do it all. He's abrilliant soloist, a masterful accompanist,
a great teacher and is a positive force in
any musical setting."
Gene Bertoncini
Jazz Guitarist
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Rod Blumenau plays jazz piano (and occasionally some very rusty tenor saxophone) in the Rochester and upstate New York area. He enjoys playing small group swing, bop, funk, Latin and other jazz styles, and is one of the few remaining keyboardists who can perform convincing "stride" piano in the Fats Waller, Art Tatum or Teddy Wilson manner. Rod’s jazz concerts are noted for their thematic coherence, and his thoughtful and entertaining explanation of the music performed.
Rod showed an aptitude for and a love of music at an early age, and began studying piano at the age of five, and clarinet and saxophone a few years later. But possessing high math SAT scores in the post-Sputnik era, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Master’s of Science in Management.
Rod enjoyed a 32-year career with Eastman Kodak in computer information systems and strategic manufacturing planning, rising into the ranks of management without really intending to, while continuing to perform music as an avocation.
Rod retired from the business world in 1998 and immediately became a full-time musician, taking a gig as piano accompanist in the Penfield (NY) public schools. He has since "retired" from full-time accompanying after 7 years, but continues to accompany a jazz choir and lead a middle-school jazz band. He arranges vocal, jazz band, and string music for students, plays nightclubs and jazz concerts, and is a first-call sideman in the upstate New York area. Each summer Rod shares his love and knowledge of jazz with adult students at the TriTone Fantasy Jazz Camp in Wisconsin. He is currently studying jazz composition.
Over the years Rod has appeared with Andre Kostelanetz, Henry Mancini, Clark Terry, Wild Bill Davison, Cab Calloway, Mel Torme, Regina Carter, Kevin Mahogany, Stefon Harris, Russell Malone and other notables who have passed through the Rochester area in need of some complementary comping. He appears as leader on three CDs, available through this website: "The Rod Blumenau Jazz Trio Live at RIT" (1996); "Facets of Jazz" (1999); and "It Could Be Verse" (2006).
Rod showed an aptitude for and a love of music at an early age, and began studying piano at the age of five, and clarinet and saxophone a few years later. But possessing high math SAT scores in the post-Sputnik era, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Master’s of Science in Management.
Rod enjoyed a 32-year career with Eastman Kodak in computer information systems and strategic manufacturing planning, rising into the ranks of management without really intending to, while continuing to perform music as an avocation.
Rod retired from the business world in 1998 and immediately became a full-time musician, taking a gig as piano accompanist in the Penfield (NY) public schools. He has since "retired" from full-time accompanying after 7 years, but continues to accompany a jazz choir and lead a middle-school jazz band. He arranges vocal, jazz band, and string music for students, plays nightclubs and jazz concerts, and is a first-call sideman in the upstate New York area. Each summer Rod shares his love and knowledge of jazz with adult students at the TriTone Fantasy Jazz Camp in Wisconsin. He is currently studying jazz composition.
Over the years Rod has appeared with Andre Kostelanetz, Henry Mancini, Clark Terry, Wild Bill Davison, Cab Calloway, Mel Torme, Regina Carter, Kevin Mahogany, Stefon Harris, Russell Malone and other notables who have passed through the Rochester area in need of some complementary comping. He appears as leader on three CDs, available through this website: "The Rod Blumenau Jazz Trio Live at RIT" (1996); "Facets of Jazz" (1999); and "It Could Be Verse" (2006).