Walter Beasley - Free Your Mind (Reissue) (2017)

Considered by fans and critics alike as the “heir to Grover Washington,
Jr.’s Throne,” Walter Beasley is the acclaimed saxophonist, vocalist,
educator, and entrepreneur of our time. Moving into the year 2000, he
became known for not only being the highest selling full time faculty
member ever, but also the only teacher, in history, to successfully grace
the Billboard charts time and time again.
Born in 1961 in the town of Brawley, and transitioning to El Centro,
California, Beasley’s melodious roots were established as he was introduced
to not only the African American sounds of R&B, Motown and Gospel , but
also to Spanish culture and the vibes of Mariachi and Boleros; to name a
few. “I learned that the language was beautiful” says Walter, and by the age
of 13, he was not only playing, but singing in Spanish as well. Beasley
attributes much of his appetite for jazz to Mr. Jimmy Canon, who at the
time had come off the road from playing with the late Count Basie, and
settled in the area; taking time to mentor young ears.
Beasley had opportunities to be a part of several bands; including Christian,
R&B and Latin. However, it was at the age of 13 where his first band
experience was as a part of the group “Los Elegantes”, which was “one of
the most versatile bands I had ever played in”, says Beasley. Classically
trained, Beasley says of his younger years, “It was really all about the music
which not only helped me to stay out of trouble, but also so I could be the
best I could possibly be; and to have the ability to see the rest of the world.”
By 16 years old, Beasley was hailed as one of the best musicians in the
country.
Beginning a new chapter, Beasley moved to the east coast; stepping into the
renowned Berklee College of Music to study in 1979, where he met,
connected and played with other saxophonists like Brandford Marsalis and
Donald Harrison; becoming known as “The Greasome Threesome”. There
he grew as a musician; developing his craft instrumentally and vocally as
well as in the area of writing and production. Upon earning his degree, he
decided to remain at Berklee as a part of the faculty and developed such a
love for education that he continued to teach even while pursuing a
vigorous career as a recording artist; in spite of the outside pressure to give
it up.
Beasley released his first album, self-entitled, in 1987 and the second called
“Just Kickin’ It” in 1989. He recalls a performance where he says “ I played
my heart out on the saxophone for 45 minutes and people looked at me like
I was crazy; until I started to sing “Don’t Say a Word” and that’s when the
response got crazy. That’s when I said, you never really can prepare for
anything; you just have to be prepared.”
As an esteemed music professor, Beasley’s classes included vocal and
rhythm section ensembles (in both classroom and performance settings),
private sax lessons, vocal delivery for singers and improvisation for
instrumentalists, both on campus and at home. He also developed a
consulting business geared toward aspiring musicians; helping them to
maximize musical performance and skills, overcome performance anxiety,
learn jazz/R&B improvisation as well as learning saxophone
technique/sound production and R&B/jazz ensemble performance. Beasley
states, “not only did I learn the art of teaching, but I learned the art of
presenting information and helping students to better; even better than
myself.”
As an African American man , having been afforded the opportunity to
become a student and teacher at the illustrious Berklee Collage of music,
desired to make sure the door would be open for other African American’s
who desired to pursue the potentials of a career in the field of music. To this
endeavor, Beasley became a part of a movement, founded by Mr. John
Ramsey, called the “Association of Faculty of African American Descent”
along with Caroline Wilkins and Ron Mondine; which Beasley called “the
quartet”. This movement was instrumental in bringing the African
American population of students and staff at Berklee from 5% to 10%
between the late 90’s/early 2000’s.
As a recording artist, Beasley has worked with several labels over the years
including Polydon, Mercury, N-Coded Music and Shanachie. He was able to
produce the album “Private Time” in ‘95’ and reminisces that “it was the
best time of my life because it was the first time I was free”. He released two
albums prior to birthing one of his dreams in becoming the founder and
CEO of Affable Publishing and Affable Records. His second Heads Up
release, “Ready For Love”, peaked at #2 on the Bill-board Contemporary
Jazz Chart and reached #1 on Smoothjazz.com, while his 2005 label debut
“For Her” reached the Top Five.
Being one of the top five best-selling African-American saxophonists in the
world since the late 90’s, Beasley, even while establishing himself as a
regular presence on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart, has opened
concerts for traditional jazz legends like Art Blakey and Dexter Gordon. He
has also shared the stage with contemporary jazz and R&B icons such as
Gerald Albright, Layla Hathaway, Ronnie Laws, Brian McKnight, Kirk
Whalum, George Howard, Norman Brown, Bob James, Art Porter,
Stephanie Mills, Vanessa Williams, Rachelle Ferrell and many more.
Beasley speaks of his career as “always having been highlighted by electric
live performances” and lovingly recalls his late musician friend, Webster
Roach, as being one of the foundations of his live band.

In 2016, Beasley made the decision to retire from Berklee. “I had
accomplished much and wanted to achieve so much more; not accolades,
not awards and not record sales. I just wanted to be happy.” Beasley goes
on to say, “One of my finest achievements is in knowing I’ve helped people,
by helping myself”. In fact, a quote from Smoothviews.com concurs,
“Walter Beasley easily goes back and forth between moods taking the
listener on a journey through the romantic, the playful, and the serious
aspects of relationships. We've all been on the same ride. Thankfully, he
chose to set his to music, so we could experience it with him." Beasley’s
experiences have brought him twenty three albums thus far and thousands
of appreciative lifetime fans who have been healed by the vulnerability of
his music. Not only is he gifted, but his humility led him to continue
teaching; starting WalterBeasleylessons.com which, Beasley says “allows
me to go directly to students, no matter what their aim and say this is what
you’re going to need to do what I’ve done, and do in a greater way than I
have!”
His newest groove and blues based 2017 EP project, “BlackStreams”, proves
that Beasley still has the flavor everyone is looking for as it has been on the
top 10 Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts 4 weeks, while the hit “Don’t say
a Word” became number 1 on Radiowavemonitor.com. Beasley says about
BlackStreams, “this is me saying there is a change in my life, but it also
reminds me of where I used to be growing up where I would just bop my
head back and forth and just enjoy it”. Walter Beasley just keeps getting
better and his passion for music is just as timeless as what his listeners hear
every time he pens a melody, performs before a crowd or teaches eager
learners. He continues to tour all over the country with upcoming dates
scheduled for Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky.