If you're familiar with Jed Distler as one of the most engaging music writers and radio hosts in the United States, you might be surprised to learn he is also "an altogether extraordinary pianist" (Newark Star-Ledger) and New York's “Downtown keyboard magus" (The New Yorker). He has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Lois V. Vierk, Virko Baley, Wendy Mae Chambers, Andrew Thomas, Simeon ten Holt, Virgil Thomson, David Maslanka, William Schimmel, Kitty Brazelton, Alvin Curran, and Eleanor Hovda -- many which were written especially for him. In addition to recent commissions from Jenny Lin, IonSound, and Song in Music, his works have been recorded by Margaret Leng Tan, Guy Livingston, and Quattro Mani, among other New Music luminaries, And no summer would be complete without WNYC’s ritual broadcast of Jed’s String Quartet No. 1 (the Mister Softee Variations).

Late in 2010 Jed recorded his newest solo piano project, “Meditate With The Masters”. Referencing one of his previous performance porgrams, Jed said, "I love to bring together seemingly unrelated composers who nevertheless relate." In “Meditate With The Masters”, he does just that -- bringing together a wide array of familiar themes from the core classical repertoire and reworking them into newly minted piano pieces designed for relaxation, healing, simple listening pleasure and to calm the mind and spirit. Jed draws on his youthful jazz and pop background and appreciation and understanding of ambient music, along with his celebrated classical technique and subtle range of color and nuance.

Musical Concepts issues the CD edition of “Meditate With The Masters” in the first weeks of 2011.

Jed Distler is a Yamaha artist.