Jack Beal

Jack is a musician, educator, and producer based in New York City and Boston. Jack's activities in music range from the most traditional to the most experimental. An ardent collaborative artist, Jack's work regularly calls upon the shared talents of fellow musicians, dancers, theatermakers, scientists, and more, from whom Jack has earned a reputation as a sensitive collaborator with an authentic approach to performance practices of all kinds. As a musician for theater, Jack has spent more than a decade performing as a bassist and bass guitarist in Off-Broadway ("Here I Am", 2024), and community productions across New York City (After Work Theater, Gallery Players, Narrows Community Theater, and others) and New England (Wig & Candle, and others). They appear regularly on New York City's cabaret circuit, and as an active substitute player for some of the city's finest bassists. Outside the pit, Jack performs as an uncommonly versatile concert musician. Jack's chamber duos Big Stubborn Boy (with violinist Lou Barker) and DUO BEAL/SCHOENFELD (with fellow bassist Adrienne Schoenfeld) both explore the frontiers of the duo performance tradition, premiering new compositions and introducing new perspectives on traditional music into the contemporary repertoire. In 2024, Jack was the double bass fellow at the Bang on a Can summer festival, one of the premiere contemporary music festivals in the United States. As a section bassist, Jack has appeared with the Rhode Island Philharmonic's Pops, the New Conductors Orchestra, and Orchestra 201. Jack also spends time on the road as part of country-rock composer Jack Kilkelly's band, and with the folk-rock quartet The Post Valley Green. As a bandleader, Jack directs the Juniper Theater Club, a jazz ensemble which brings the repertoire of post-1950 Broadway into the jazz performance practice. From 2021–2024, Jack co-lead P'an, a world traditions ensemble devoted to demonstrating the power of intercultural musical exchange. Jack also leads Spirit of Ecstasy, an ensemble which integrates free jazz, spiritual jazz, and chamber music practice in its collaborative and highly improvisatory performance style. As a recording artist, Jack appears on more than a dozen recordings with credits spanning bass and bass guitar, conducting, production, composition, electronics design, mix engineering, and mastering. In addition to maintaining a private teaching studio in Brooklyn, New York, Jack's fifteen years of teaching experience also include faculty positions at New York University and the Charles River Creative Arts Program. They hold an M.M. degree in Double Bass Performance (summa cum laude) from New York University, studying with bassists Gregg August and Andrew Trombley, conductor Ted Sperling, and composer Ed Neumeister. Jack also holds a B.A. (cum laude) from Connecticut College, studying there under bassist Mark McCormick and composer Arthur Kreiger.