For those not in the know, Andy Ostwald is a San Francisco Bay area-based performer, teacher, and author of the book Play Jazz, Blues, Rock Piano by Ear.

He performs as a band leader, sideman, solo pianist, and as a member of Jeff Sanford’s Cartoon Jazz Orchestra.

Now with his own Andy Ostwald Trio he is proud to present their debut full-length release Field Guide on March 18th, 2022.

The album is a true Field Guide for that meadow we’ve seen before but never traversed, featuring intimate and intensely focused improvised musical travels through overlooked gardens and orchards of sound.

Grab a copy of the Field Guide and enjoy your trip today!

1. Sonar
2. Falling Grace
3. Sweet Emma
4. Virgo
5. To Wisdom the Prize
6. Meadow’s Edge
7. Memories of Tomorrow
8. I Hear a Rhapsody
9. Beatrice
10. Like Someone in Love
11. The Wedding

This simply beautiful, decadently layered new album opens on the free flowing majesties of Sonar and the quieter, astutely precise melodies of Falling Grace and then seamlessly blends those with the drum-led rhythms of Sweet Emma, the mesmerizing Virgo and then comes the impressive To Wisdom the Prize.

Next up is one of my own personal favorites from this new recording, the dulcet magnificence of Meadow’s Edge which is in turn backed by the organic nature of Memories of Tomorrow, then come the melodic textures within I Hear a Rhapsody, the consummate Beatrice, the album rounding out with the gently swirl and twirl of Like Someone in Love, coming to a close on the heavenly divine orchestrations of The Wedding.

Andy Ostwald has toured the US and abroad with singer Diane Witherspoon and has performed at many of the San Francisco Bay Area’s notable venues, including the SF Jazz Center, Yoshi’s Oakland & SF, Kuumbwa, and the Great American Music Hall.

In 2011, Andy Ostwald began performing with fellow Bay Area musicians Ravi Abcarian (bass) and Bryan Bowman (drums), and the ANDY OSTWALD TRIO was born.

They largely developed their group sound while performing at Bocce Café in the North Beach district of San Francisco, an engagement that lasted for five years until 2016. It was during this run that the musicians honed their ability to interact freely and play off one another’s musical ideas.

Ostwald’s father actually played a key role in his early musical development. My dad made a point of introducing me to his favorite early jazz and classical recordings, says Andy. He would also pick up his violin and improvise melodies over the scales that I was practicing on the piano; Dad could breathe life into those scales.

By age 12 Andy began improvising over rock songs, and a couple of years later he attended a clinic by jazz pianist Dan Hearle, who introduced him to recordings by three towering figures of jazz piano: Herbie Hancock, Ahmad Jamal, and Oscar Peterson. The music these musicians created both moved and mystified me, notes Ostwald, and in the end, contributed to steering me in the direction of jazz.

Indeed, Ostwald received a BA in music from San Jose State University. While there he focused on performing contemporary jazz, classical compositions, and the Gamelan music of Java, and a few years later he spent a year in New York studying with renowned jazz pianist Harold Mabern.

Following his stay in New York, Andy returned to his native San Francisco Bay Area to teach and play music.

Soon thereafter he met singer Diane Witherspoon and became her piano accompanist. They performed locally on tour in the States, and then on several occasions in Tokyo. Currently Ostwald is a member of Jeff Sanford’s Cartoon Jazz Orchestra and freelances as both a band leader and sideman.

Andy teaches piano at his home in Oakland. He’s also an instructor at Oaktown Jazz Workshops, where Ravi Abcarian is also an instructor and the executive director. Ostwald’s book/audio series Play Jazz, Blues, Rock Piano by Ear was published by Mel Bay Publications in 2004. It remains in print today.

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