Walter Beasley

Walter Beasley (born May 24, 1961) is an American saxophonist, a professor of music at the Berklee College of Music, and founder of Affable Publishing and Affable Records.

Walter Beasley
Background information
Birth name	Walter Beasley
Born	(1961-05-24) May 24, 1961 (age 64)
Origin	El Centro, California, United States
Genres	Smooth Jazz, R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician, professor, recording artist, performer, composer
Instrument(s)	Soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, voice
Labels	Shanachie Records Warner Bros. Records Mercury Records Headsup/Affable Records
Website	walterbeasley.com

Biography

Beasley grew up in El Centro, California.^[1] By the age of 13 he was singing in Spanish in a band called Los Elegantes, and he played in various bands and performed at clubs throughout middle and high school.^[2]

Beasley graduated from Berklee in 1984,^[3] and a year later took a short-term teaching position at the same school, which became a permanent career.^[1] He is now a professor at the school.^[4]

In 1987, he released his first, self-titled, album,^[3] and since 1998 has been one of the top ten best-selling African American saxophonists in the world.^[4] Having grown up as a fan of R&B and funk and trained in classical and jazz saxophone,^[5] his own style falls between contemporary R&B and contemporary jazz,^[6] a blend which has been called "smooth jazz".^[3]

He is not only an alto and soprano saxophonist and a singer,^[7] but also a composer and producer.^[5] He is the founder and CEO of Affable Publishing, and the owner of Affable Records.^[3]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions				Label
		US Jazz [8]	US Con. Jazz [9]	US R&B /HH [10]	US Ind [11]
1988	Walter Beasley	—	25	72	—	Mercury/ Polydor/ PolyGram/ UMG
1989	Just Kickin' It	—	—	—	—
1993	Intimacy	—	—	56	—
1995	Private Time	—	—	—	—
1996	Live and More	—	—	—	—	Affable
1997	Tonight We Love	13	10	—	—	Shanachie
1998	For Your Pleasure	6	6	—	—
2000	Won't You Let Me Love You	4	3	—	34
2002	Rendezvous	6	3	—	19
2003	Midnight Love	8	4	—	38
	Go with the Flow	7	4	—	23	Affable
2004	The Classics R & B Collection	14	10	—	—	Shanachie
2005	Greatest Hits!	34	23	—	—
	For Her	10	5	88	—	Heads Up
2006	Live	—	—	—	—	Shanachie
2007	Ready for Love	5	2	—	34	Affable
2008	Sax Meditations	—	—	—	—
2009	Free Your Mind	15	5	—	—	Heads Up
2010	Backatcha!	13	9	—	—	Shanachie
	Live – In the Groove	—	—	—	—	Affable
2013	Live in the Club	—	—	—	—
2014	Sax Meditations ll	—	—	—	—
2015	I'm Back	—	—	—	—
2017	Blackstreams (EP)	18	6	—	—
2018	The Best of Walter Beasley	—	11	—	—
2019	Going Home	15	7	—	—
2021	Meet Me at My Place	—	—	—	—
2023	Do You Want to Dance?	—	—	—	—
2024	Live and Blessed	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions		Album
		Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs [12]	Smooth Jazz Airplay [13]
1987	"I'm So Happy"	49	—	Walter Beasley
1988	"On the Edge"	79	—
1989	"Don't Say Goodbye"	95	—	Just Kickin' It
1990	"Just Kickin' It"	67	—
1993	"If You Ever Loved Someone and Lost"	63	—	Intimacy
2005	"Coolness"	—	2	For Her
2007	"Ready for Love"	—	1	Ready for Love
	"Why Not You"	—	13
2009	"Steady as She Goes"	—	1	Free Your Mind
2010	"Oh Yeah"	—	3
2011	"Expressway"	—	19	Backatcha!
	"The Call"	—	20
2013	"Groove in You" (live)	—	14	Live in the Club
2014	"Silver Lining"	—	21	Sax Meditations ll
2015	"I'm Back"	—	1	I'm Back
2016	"Hard Work" (Walter Beasley featuring Michael O'Hara)	—	17
2017	"Don't Say a Word"	—	8	Blackstreams
	"Now What"	—	18
2018	"Come on Over"	—	15
	"Funky Boy" (Byron Miller featuring Walter Beasley)	—	24	Byron Miller – Psychobass 2 – The Gift
	"Skip to My Lew"	—	4	I'm Back
2019	"The B-Spot" (Byron Miller featuring Walter Beasley)	—	2	Byron Miller – Psychobass 2 – The Gift
	"It's Alright"	—	3	Going Home
2020	"Aqui"	—	24
	"Real Love" (Bryon Miller featuring Stevie Wonder and Walter Beasley)	—	22	Byron Miller – Psychobass 3 – Real Love
2021	"The Beasley Strut"	—	16	Meet Me at My Place
2023	"Nice and Easy" (Walter Beasley featuring Najee)	—	2	Do You Want to Dance?
2024	"Funk Foot" (Walter Beasley featuring Phil Davis)	—	3
2025	"Lazy Afternoon (Kenny's Groove)"	—	14	TBD
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

DVDs

Educational

• Sound Production for the Saxophone (Affable Publishing, 2003)
• Hip-Hop Improvisation (Affable Publishing, 2003)
• Circular Breathing with Walter Beasley
• 14 Steps to Maximizing Your Performance (for Saxophonists)
• Walter Beasley's Performance Workshop
• Walter Beasley presents Vocal Performance
• Improv Using Pentatonics
• Performance Insight
• Playing Blues
• Resolution Warm-Up
• Using Vibrato
• Improvisations and Delivery Clinic

Live

• Walter Beasley Live at Scullers (Affable Records, 2003)^[14]
• Live in the Club (Walter Beasley, 2013)

Books

• Performance Insight for Musicians
• Nice and Easy Cookbook
• Performance Insight (for Musicians) Vol. II
• Quotes For Grown Folks

APPs

• Walter Beasley Smooth Jazz Alarm App
• Walter Beasley in Concert Transcriptions
• Music Lessons by Walter Beasley
• Hip hop Improvisation
• Walter Beasley Transcriptions
• Circular Breathing
• Sound Production for Saxophone
• Sax Meditations

Awards and accolades

• 2001 Boston Music Awards, Outstanding Jazz Artist
• 2001 Berklee College of Music Trustee Award for advancing the mission and values of the college
• 2001 South Middlesex Men's Club Leadership Award for community service and support of youth development in music.
• 2001 SESAC National Performing Activity Award for the song "Comin' at Cha"
• 2002 SESAC National Performing Activity Award for the song "Rendezvous"
• 2003 Boston Music Awards, Jazz Album of the Year (Go With the Flow)^[15]
• 2013 Forever Ink Achievement Award
• 2019 Boston Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist
• 2023 Soul Tracks Reader's Choice Award, Instrumentalist for the Year