Creed Taylor Produced

Ted Rosenthal recorded his first album as the leader of the Ted Rosenthal Trio in October 1989. On May 1st, 2026, his latest trio album will be generally available. In this post, I’ll dive into Ted, two Kens, and Ted’s years as a key player in Creed Taylor’s CTI CD-only era.

Select a streaming service, “Press Play” and read on

The Good Old Days

Rosenthal has continued with a busy schedule over the intervening 30 years writing, teaching, performing, and recording; he has a new Trio album The Good Old Days – officially out on May 1st, and it is available on streaming platforms and in CD format from some online retailers already (April 16th) ^[1]https://www.ebay.com/str/spinneymedia?_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211.

The album is the 4th in a series of albums in Ted’s Trio in 4 acts, or as described in the press pack as a tetralogy ^[2]I had to look it up – a compound work that consists of four distinct works, often seen in literature, drama, or music. following on from High Standards, The Ted Rosenthal Songbook, and Classics Reimagined: Impromp2.

The album’s title reflects his fondness for earlier jazz styles without indulging in nostalgia. Although it may lack a classic slow blues that could have added a Basie-esque flair, the pianist breathes new life into the music with his interpretations. He offers a vibrant homage to ragtime, 20s jazz, stride, and swing. Technically assured and poised, his playing elegantly captures a flowing improvisational style reminiscent of Teddy Wilson, particularly evident in the opening track, “From This Moment On,” and throughout the ballad sections.

The album contains 10 tracks and runs 50 minutes. It includes Rosenthal original tracks Hot Sauce and The Good Old Days and standards such as Cole Porter’s This Moment On and Hoagy Carmichael’s Two Sleepy People. Also on the album is special guest Ken Peplowski. Peplowski was also a guest on “Impromp2” along with Sara Caswell.

The Good Old Days features music looking back to an earlier era of jazz, ragtime, stride, swing, and pre-bop. It is very meaningful to have him [Peplowski] on this CD.

Ted Rosenthal – EPK for The Good Old Days

The album is released on TMR Music, Rosenthal’s own label and effectively distributed by Spinney Media ^[3]https://spinneymedia.com/. There is no vinyl release planned. The engineer and Rosenthal have done a great job with the digital mastering; there is no shrill sound and only a trace of compression, which affects most modern jazz releases ^[4]It’s quite possible this is caused by the streaming platform – I have no insight into what happens in the release and hosting process. It is worth noting that the Spotify and Amazon digital track releases include Track-9 mislabeled as “Autumn in New Yrok” ^[5]I’m glad I’m not the only one that doesn’t have a copy editor..

As of writing in April 2026, Rosenthal is touring in Germany and has an active schedule for the remainder of the summer. Ted has a great website, full of personal music details as well as a touring/event schedule. www.tedrosenthal.com

The Electronic Press Kit ^[6]https://www.tedrosenthal.com/docs/TedRosenthalPK.zip includes pictures and bios; there is also a video from Ted on YouTube.

Celebrating Ken Peplowski

The album, if I understand correctly, was recorded in the summer of 2024, well before Peplowski’s untimely death during a jazz cruise on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship on February 2nd of this year.

Both Peplowski tracks, Hot Sauce and Sunny Side Up give us the chance to remember him as he’d want, going out swinging. The album features Rosenthal’s two working trios: Martin Wind, Noriko Ueda – Bass, Tim Horner, Quincy Davis – Drums and they venture into ragtime on two tracks which give Rosenthal the opportunity to shine on piano.

On Peplowski’s passing, NPR Fresh Air re-ran a 1999 interview with Ken. It is well worth the 18-minute listen. I hadn’t known much about Peplowski.

This year the annual Oregon Coast Jazz Party will celebrate the enduring legacy of Ken Peplowski. He was well-known in the Oregon jazz scene. He served as music director for the Oregon Coast Jazz Party in Newport, OR. He was also a music director for the Oregon Festival of American Music in Eugene from 2007 through 2014. The event is from October 2-4, 2026 ^[7]https://coastarts.org/oregon-coast-jazz-party/.

Ted Rosenthal’s schedule doesn’t allow him to attend the Oregon Coast Jazz Party.

Calling You

Ted’s connection with Creed Taylor began in December 1991 and January 1992 recording at Van Gelder’s Englewood studio playing piano and synth for the sessions that made up Jim Hall’s album Youkali, as well as his own Calling You album. The sessions were again an ensemble lineup and overlapped. The title track, is probably the most popular and best track recorded during that version-3 CTI period, both lineup and tracks. As well as being the best track on the album, the title track features a great vocal by (Chief) Donald Harrison.

Harrison plays sax on another favorite track from the album Sea Song – Bobby Hutcherson on vibes also makes some great contributions, along with Eddie Gomez on bass.

You can hear these tracks as well the other tracks from albums recorded in that period via two posts and mixcloud mixes.

September is Creed Taylor Month

CTI On CD Only Volume-2

Devils Toothpick

Ted can also be heard on the CD and Laserdisc film soundtrack for the Creed Taylor film, The Devils Toothpick ^[8]https://www.discogs.com/master/810347-Various-Music-From-Inspired-By-The-Film-The-Devils-Toothpick. The video features some musicians including Donald Harrison but Rosenthal is not seen ^[9]Due to brief nudity, I had to switch the Youtube video to age restricted. ^[10]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl6Cu4mNExw.

Finally, Ted Rosenthal can also be heard on Larry Coryell’s CTI album Fallen Angel recorded circa 1993 and reached #18 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums Charts that year. In his Down Beat review, Dan Ouellette said, “The CD climaxes with the highly charged and angular guitar/piano dialogue between Coryell and Ted Rosenthal on ‘Monk’s Corner.'” ^[11]DOWNBEAT January 1994 – P45

Doug Payne published a review of Fallen Angel this week, it’s a great read.

Larry Coryell – “Fallen Angel” (1993)

New Tunes New Traditions

Rosenthal’s debut album was released as the Ted Rosenthal Trio with Ron Carter (bass) and Bill Higgins (drums) and guest Tom Harrell (trumpet) for Ken Fujiwara’s brief but bright Ken Music label. It was recorded in October 1989 and released in 1990 ^[12]https://www.discogs.com/master/1897527-Ted-Rosenthal-Trio-New-Tunes-New-Traditions.

The album came shortly after Rosenthal won the $10,000 first prize in the second annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition at the Smithsonian Institution – judges were Tommy Flanagan, Roland Hanna, Barry Harris, and Roger Kellaway. ((Cash Box, December 10th, 1988 – P25.

The Great Neck, Long Island-born Rosenthal began playing piano by ear at a young age; formal jazz studies started at age 12 with Tony Aless (sideman to Charlie Parker and Stan Getz). He went on to study with Jaki Byard and Lennie Tristano in high school and attended workshops with Billy Taylor and Woody Shaw.

He toured in the early 1990s with the last Gerry Mulligan Quartet, recording three albums and performing at major festivals worldwide; served as musical director of the Gerry Mulligan All‑Star Tribute Band, whose album Thank You, Gerry! earned a Grammy nomination in 1998.

Rosenthal is a respected educator with long‑standing faculty appointments including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and The New School.

Ken Music

Kenichi “Ken” Fujiwara was a Japanese-born jazz enthusiast and producer who became a notable figure in the U.S. jazz recording scene through his label, Ken Music, active from 1989 to 1992. Originally from Tamano in Okayama Prefecture, Fujiwara developed his passion for jazz early, even working as a bandboy for the Count Basie Orchestra during its Japan tours.

Fujiwara relocated to New York City in the late 1980s with the explicit goal of producing and engineering jazz recordings. Leveraging his position at Matsuka Industries, he launched Ken Music as a U.S.-based subsidiary, operating from an office on West 57th Street in Manhattan. The label quickly became known for high-quality, straight-ahead jazz sessions featuring both American and international artists, including Herwig, Snidero, Joanne Brackeen, Eddie Gómez, Jack DeJohnette, and others.

Ken Music also secured a distribution partnership with Bellaphon Records in Germany, giving its artists strong European exposure. Although short-lived, Fujiwara’s label left a distinct mark on the jazz landscape by documenting a vibrant circle of New York improvisers during a transitional era for the industry.

Update: 4/28/2026 Removed ambiguity about Ted’s attendance the Oregon Coast Jazz Party.