Steve Tirpak

Steve Tirpak

Tirpak at Platinum Sound, NYC
Background information
Born 1981 (age 34–35)
Edgewater Park, New Jersey, United States
Occupation(s) Jazz musician, composer, arranger
Years active 2004–present
Website www.stevetirpak.com

Steve Tirpak (born 1981) is an American musician, composer, arranger, and performer from Edgewater Park, New Jersey, United States. He is a pianist and trumpeter who has written, produced and recorded for a number of contemporary musicians including Jay-Z, Erykah Badu, Lana Del Rey, Kirk Franklin, P. Diddy, The Roots, LL Cool J, Will Smith, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Estelle, Luther Vandross, R. Kelly, Boyz II Men, Vivian Green, Notorious B.I.G, Gerald Levert, Mindi Abair, Kindred, Young Gunz, and many others.[1] Tirpak was horn section leader and arranger for the John Legend band performing trumpet and trombone from 2007 to 2010.[2] Steve has been teaching since 2010 as the Assistant Director for the Creative Music Program at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.[3]

Early life

A fourth generation musician, Tirpak honed his skills at an early age singing in the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale.[4] Tirpak's’s parents are also professional musicians and music teachers. With their encouragement, Tirpak spent his early years studying the violin, drums, piano, trumpet, trombone, flugalbone, and tuba. While in college at The University of the Arts (Philadelphia) Tirpak met his mentor Larry Gold, who taught him the art of string arrangement and production at “The Studio” in Philadelphia.[5] Tirpak graduated from the University of the Arts in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree in music composition.

Career

Tirpak released his debut jazz album, Who Cares?, in 2006.[6] The album features "slick contemporary passages and spicy latin tinged jazz arrangements" [7] played by premier and legendary jazz performers, including Eric Wortham, Ross Bellenoit, Adam Blackstone, Joe Truglio, Aaron Marisis, Cheryl Tirpak, and Orlando Haddad. Amidst favorable review, the record was played nationally on Smooth Jazz internet and terrestrial radio stations as well as College radio programs.

After honing his craft at the direction of Larry Gold, in 2007 Tirpak was hired to the John Legend Evolver World Tour as horn arranger and trombonist.[8] Following the tour's end, Tirpak continued his arranging while simultaneously delving into orchestral work. He wrote for George Michael's Symphonica Tour in 2012, and composed for full orchestra for Jay-Z's benefit performance at Carnegie Hall later that year.[9] To date, Tirpak has a long list of television appearances including performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, and many others. The follow-up to Who Cares?, "You Promised", was released in April 2014.

In addition to performing, Tirpak teaches as Assistant Director of the Creative Music Program at the Kimmel Center.[10] He writes new compositions specifically for the CMP ensembles in order to teach, explore and perform original music. This is something he treats as a cosmic duty, as he is handing down musical knowledge to the younger generations. Tirpak also produces for local and national acts, including his own Steve Tirpak Ensemble. He was interviewed on WBZC FM radio station in South jersey, WPRB FM Princeton University,[11] and was featured on the cover of the national quarterly music publication R&B Showcase Magazine.[12]

Discography

Solo albums

Musician credits

Soundtracks

References

  1. ↑ "Steve Tirpak | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  2. ↑ "John-Legend.Net". John-Legend.Net. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  3. ↑ "The Kimmel Center Creative Music Program for Jazz". Kimmel Center. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20080531235152/http://www.phillyboyschoir.org:80/alumni_list.htm. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "MilkBoy the Studio". MilkBoy the Studio. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20140512223300/http://www.stevetirpak.com/music.html. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ Stephen Tirpak (2006-07-01). "Who Cares?: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  8. ↑ Archived January 26, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "Jay-Z shines at Carnegie Hall – USATODAY.com". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Jazz Camp of Philadelphia". Kimmel Center. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ "Featured Content on Myspace". Viewmorepics.myspace.com. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  13. ↑ "The John Legend Band". John-Legend.Net. Retrieved 2014-08-10.

External links

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