Walter Beasley

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Walter Beasley
WalterBeasley.jpg
Background information
Born
Walter Beasley

(1961-05-24) May 24, 1961 (age 64)
Origin El Centro, California, United States
Genres Smooth Jazz, R&B
OccupationsMusician, professor, recording artist, performer, composer
Instruments Soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, voice
Labels Shanachie Records
Warner Bros. Records
Mercury Records
Headsup/Affable Records
Website walterbeasley.com

Walter Beasley (born May 24, 1961) is an American saxophonist, a professor of music at the Berklee College of Music, and founder of Affable Publishing and Affable Records.

Contents

Biography

Beasley grew up in El Centro, California. [1] By the age of 13 he was singing in Spanish in a band called Los Elegantes, and he played in various bands and performed at clubs throughout middle and high school. [2]

Beasley graduated from Berklee in 1984, [3] and a year later took a short-term teaching position at the same school, which became a permanent career. [1] He is now a professor at the school. [4]

In 1987, he released his first, self-titled, album, [3] and since 1998 has been one of the top ten best-selling African American saxophonists in the world. [4] Having grown up as a fan of R&B and funk and trained in classical and jazz saxophone, [5] his own style falls between contemporary R&B and contemporary jazz, [6] a blend which has been called "smooth jazz". [3]

He is not only an alto and soprano saxophonist and a singer, [7] but also a composer and producer. [5] He is the founder and CEO of Affable Publishing, and the owner of Affable Records. [3]

Discography

Albums

YearAlbumPeak chart positionsLabel
US
Jazz
[8] 		US
Con.
Jazz
[9] 		US
R&B
/HH
[10] 		US
Ind
[11]
1988Walter Beasley—2572— Mercury/
Polydor/
PolyGram/
UMG
1989Just Kickin' It————
1993Intimacy——56—
1995Private Time————
1996Live and More————Affable
1997Tonight We Love1310—— Shanachie
1998For Your Pleasure66——
2000Won't You Let Me Love You43—34
2002Rendezvous63—19
2003Midnight Love84—38
Go with the Flow74—23Affable
2004The Classics R & B Collection1410——Shanachie
2005Greatest Hits!3423——
For Her10588— Heads Up
2006Live————Shanachie
2007Ready for Love52—34Affable
2008Sax Meditations————
2009Free Your Mind155——Heads Up
2010Backatcha!139——Shanachie
Live – In the Groove————Affable
2013Live in the Club————
2014Sax Meditations ll————
2015I'm Back————
2017Blackstreams (EP)186——
2018The Best of Walter Beasley—11——
2019Going Home157——
2021Meet Me at My Place————
2023Do You Want to Dance?————
2024Live and Blessed————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
Hot R&B/
Hip-Hop
Songs
[12] 		Smooth Jazz
Airplay
[13]
1987"I'm So Happy"49N/aWalter Beasley
1988"On the Edge"79N/a
1989"Don't Say Goodbye"95N/aJust Kickin' It
1990"Just Kickin' It"67N/a
1993"If You Ever Loved Someone and Lost"63N/aIntimacy
2005"Coolness"—2For Her
2007"Ready for Love"—1Ready for Love
"Why Not You"—13
2009"Steady as She Goes"—1 Free Your Mind
2010"Oh Yeah"—3
2011"Expressway"—19Backatcha!
"The Call"—20
2013"Groove in You" (live)—14Live in the Club
2014"Silver Lining"—21Sax Meditations ll
2015"I'm Back"—1I'm Back
2016"Hard Work"
(Walter Beasley featuring Michael O'Hara)		—17
2017"Don't Say a Word"—8Blackstreams
"Now What"—18
2018"Come on Over"—15
"Funky Boy"
(Byron Miller featuring Walter Beasley)		—24Byron Miller – Psychobass 2 – The Gift
"Skip to My Lew"—4I'm Back
2019"The B-Spot"
(Byron Miller featuring Walter Beasley)		—2Byron Miller – Psychobass 2 – The Gift
"It's Alright"—3Going Home
2020"Aqui"—24
"Real Love"
(Bryon Miller featuring Stevie Wonder and Walter Beasley)		—22Byron Miller – Psychobass 3 – Real Love
2021"The Beasley Strut"—16Meet Me at My Place
2023"Nice and Easy"
(Walter Beasley featuring Najee)		—2Do You Want to Dance?
2024"Funk Foot"
(Walter Beasley featuring Phil Davis)		—3
2025"Lazy Afternoon (Kenny's Groove)"—7TBD
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

DVDs

Educational

Live

Books

APPs

Awards and accolades

References

  1. 1 2 Beasley, Walter (December 20, 2007). "Walter Beasley's Official Site: Professional Profile" . Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  2. ↑ Lebovitz, Susan Chaityn (January 22, 2006). "Beasley on the sax". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cox, Kevin (March 15, 2007). "Boston-based saxophonist helps keep jazz alive". The Boston-Bay State Banner. Vol. 42, no. 31. Retrieved February 23, 2009.{{cite news}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 1 2 "Faculty Biography: Walter Beasley". Berklee. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  5. 1 2 Rowland, Hobart; Bob Burtman (May 23, 1996). "Saxy Stuff". Houston Press. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  6. ↑ Buckley, Michael (February 5, 2009). "Music Box: Big Head Todd brings heartfelt rock to D.C." HometownAnnapolis.com. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  7. ↑ Lowenthal, Kevin (August 12, 2005). "Onstage, his smoothness turns funky and soulful". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Walter Beasley: Jazz Albums". Billboard .
  9. ↑ "Walter Beasley: Contemporary Jazz Albums". Billboard .
  10. ↑ "Walter Beasley: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard .
  11. ↑ "Walter Beasley: Independent Albums". Billboard .
  12. ↑ "Walter Beasley: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard .
  13. ↑ "Walter Beasley: Smooth Jazz Airplay". Billboard .
  14. ↑ "Walter Beasley's Official Site | Selected Discography and Equipment". Walterbeasley.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Walter Beasley's Official Site | Fact Sheet". Walterbeasley.com. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
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