Sometimes advertising and slogans become outdated and do not reflect the current environment. This is not the case with “The Jazz Corner Of The World”. Birdland is still the rightful owner of this Charlie Parker quote, and one only needs to be in the audience on Saturday night to hear the great jazzman Alan Broadbent and his trio to understand the legitimacy of the moniker. Broadbent’s fingers produced melodic lines in a continuous, elegant stream of breathtaking notes as he stretched out across the keyboard like a ballet dancer. The interaction between Harvie S on bass and Billy Mintz was a true love story of great jazz musicians at their best.

“Trio in Motion” is the title of the latest album from two-time Grammy-winning pianist Alan Broadbent. His outing was celebrated last night at Birdland as Alan was joined by longtime collaborators Harvie S on bass and Bill Mintz on drums as they continued the tradition of the planet’s greatest musicians hanging out in this sacred corner of the jazz world on 44th Street in New York City.

Alan Broadbent’s career took off at the age of 19 when he received a scholarship from Downbeat magazine to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1969 he was invited to join Woody Herman’s group as a pianist and arranger for 3 years and was quickly invited to the studio stage as a pianist for the greats Nelson Riddle, David Rose and Johnny Mandel. In the early 90s, he was asked to be part of Natalie Cole’s famous “Unforgettable” CD, during which time he toured as a pianist and conductor. At this time, he wrote an orchestral arrangement for his second video with his father, “When I Fall In Love”, which won him his first Grammy Award for “best orchestral arrangement accompanying a voice”.

Soon after, he became a member of Charlie Haden’s Quartet West, touring festivals in Europe, the UK and the US. It was then with this group that he won his second Grammy, an orchestral accompaniment written for Shirley Horn of Leonard Bernstein’s “Lonely Town”.

As a soloist and with his jazz trio, Broadbent has been nominated twice for the Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Performance, along with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins and Keith Jarrett. In 2007, he received the New Zealand Order of Merit, an honor he holds in high regard.

Broadbent is Diana Krall’s conductor for her occasional orchestral concerts. Most recently, he was the arranger of Glenn Frey’s string cd, “After Hours”, and wrote six string arrangements for Sir Paul McCartney’s “Kisses On The Bottom” with the London Symphony.

Her lifelong goal, through her orchestral arrangements and jazz improvisations, has been to discover deeper feelings of communication and love in popular music and standard songs.