Reach For The Skies 1

"Inward Light" is a track from "First Gathering", a new album by The Abbey Rader West Coast Quartet. The group was formed in January of 2015 when Abbey Rader, Peter Kuhn, Kyle Motl and Drew Ceccato met in California for the first time. Rader and Kuhn are both practicing Buddhists, and the common ground created an ever-present air of spirituality. “First Gathering” was born out of Rader’s desire to create music based on the Four Noble Truths, the guiding principles of Buddhism. These teachings speak to fundamental truths about human existence and provide a path that leads to the end of suffering. From that launching point, the musicians developed four fully improvised pieces.

"First Gathering" will be available on June 16, 2015.

Abbey Rader: drums
Drew Ceccato: alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax
Peter Kuhn: alto sax, tenor sax, bass clarinet
Kyle Motl: double bass

Inward Light


The Message captures the spiritual sound of Abbey Rader and two members of his quartet, John McMinn and Noah Brandmark. The album is their first trio recording. It follows 2013's Reach for the Skies, a runner-up for Album of the Year by Avant Music News. On this session, the longtime collaborators push each other through relentless explorations, employing unique instrumentations in their quest for musical unity. The Message was recorded in January 2014 during a live performance on Evenin' Jazz with The Real Tracy Fields at WLRN Miami.

Indulgence

"Achievement" is a track from "It's Time", a duet album by Abbey Rader and Peter Ponzol slated for release on June 28, 2016. 

Achievement

"New Found Spirits" is the first track from "Reunion", a live album by the Abbey Rader Quartet featuring Kidd Jordan. Release date: July 23, 2016

New Found Spirits

Jazz Drummer / Buddhist Practitioner / Martial Artist

Abbey Rader is a musician and composer who has dedicated his life to playing improvised music as part of a spiritual quest for deeper meaning. He is heavily influenced by his study of Buddhism under the tutelage of the Master Sheng Yen, beginning in 1975 at the Ch’an Center in Queens, New York.

His career spans over four decades with a discography that includes 28 albums, the majority under his leadership. He lived in Europe in the late 70s and 80s where he performed with John Handy, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Gunter Hampel, Jeanne Lee, Marion Brown, Mal Waldron, and had his own band, The Right Time. He was a clinician for Sonor drums for many years and taught jazz drum set studies at several universities in Germany. Since returning to America, he has performed and recorded with Dave Liebman, Billy Bang, Frank Lowe, Ed Schuller, Kidd Jordan, Taylor Ho Bynum and many others.

His quartet’s 2013 release, Reach for the Skies, was named a runner-up for Album of the Year by Avant Music News.
