Beal-Larson Group

CYNTHIA BEAL learned her torch song repertoire from her mother, a big-band singer in St. Louis, MO, and the Midwest in the 50's and 60's. Cynthia's been singing jazz locally since 1994, choosing tunes from that great speak-easy era expressed so well by vocalists like Chris Connor, Julie London, June Christy, and Peggy Lee. She's a founding member of the Willamette Jazz Society, an enthusiastic member of the musician-run Jazz Station in Eugene, Oregon, and schedules the Last Sunday Torch Song Review every month.

STEVE LARSON’s jazz piano playing reflects his close study of the music of jazz greats Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Dave McKenna, as well as the classic piano works of Bach and Chopin, and his experience playing rock-and-roll and boogie-woogie — creating piano textures that are sophisticated and elegant, yet rich with the simplicity and catchiness that make for compelling melody. But his real love is making music with other musicians that not only swings, but also embodies the musical analog of the give-and-take of fine conversation. Larson's recordings include a Nebula compact disc with flutist Cynthia Folio entitled PORTFOLIO, to which he contributed compositions, arrangements, and improvisations. Steve is a member of the Steve Larson Trio and the Jazz Piano Collective and has also performed with Harrell Bosarge, Don Latarski, Sonja Rasmussen, Marieke Schuurs, Richard Smith, Ed Wise, and Carl Woideck. A professor of music at the University of Oregon, Steve is also house pianist at the Oregon Wine Warehouse. See Steve's web page at http://uoregon.edu/~steve/.