Utah pianist spans classical-pop divide

Despite their marketability and obvious mass appeal in contemporary culture, there are few true instrumental crossover artists. Compiling a list of musicians who play both popular and classical music doesn't take a lot of effort, and the names are few.

On the pop side, there are trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who's performed and recorded concertos by Haydn and Hummel, and pianist Chick Correa, who plays Mozart. Clarinetist Benny Goodman realized a lifelong dream when he recorded the Mozart Clarinet Concerto and the Clarinet Quintet, back in the 1950s at Tanglewood.

Among classical musicians, the list is equally short. Friedrich Gulda became a respectable jazz pianist, and he and Correa even recorded some albums together, one of which featured Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who has his hand in everything, plays bluegrass and tangos, as well as Dvorak's Cello Concerto.

Locally, there are a couple of musicians who can be considered crossover. The Utah Symphony's principal clarinet Tad Calcara cuts loose and swings on occasion, on both clarinet and piano.

Then there's pianist Jed Moss, who in addition to being a member of the Paradigm Trio, along with violinist Kelly Parkinson and violist Joel Rosenberg, is also a member of the venerable pop group Air Supply. And as far as Moss is concerned, touring with Air Supply is just fine as long as he can play classical concerts in between gigs.

Moss says, however, that his first love is classical music.

The Idaho native moved to Utah to study with Gladys Gladstone at the University of Utah, and through her he met Rosenberg. "I've known Joel about 20 years," Moss said. "We did some concertos together in the early 1980s, some Mozart and the Beethoven Third."

They kept their collaboration going over the years, and in 2001 formed the Paradigm Trio with Parkinson. "My work with Ballet West (where he is the principal keyboardist) connected me with Kelly," Moss said. The trio gave its first performance at the Madeleine Festival in 2001.

Moss' background is strictly classical. He's appeared on several local series besides the Madeleine Festival and the Paradigm Concert Series. He's performed on the NOVA Chamber Music Series and with Canyonlands New Music Ensemble, and he accompanied flutist Carol Wincenc at her recital at Brigham Young University last September.

He's also toured with Ballet West, playing Leonard Bernstein's "Age of Anxiety" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

With those credentials, it's somewhat surprising to discover that Moss has also been the keyboardist with the pop group Air Supply for the past eight years. "Pop music is a horse of a different color," he said. "I feel like I'm a fish out of water, but I enjoy being with Air Supply."

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