Paul Bedal
about
Photo: Jacob Hand
Originally from the Chicago area and now based in Brooklyn, NY, Paul has developed a distinctive voice marked by lyrical melodies, rich harmonic textures, and imaginative ensemble writing. He is a graduate of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds a Master's degree in Music Composition for the Screen from Columbia College Chicago.
As a bandleader, Bedal has released six recordings under his own name — Chatter (2014), Mirrors (2018), In Reverse (2019), Cerulean Stars (2021), Unfolding (2023), and Silhouette (2025) — earning acclaim for their originality and melodic sophistication. He has performed and recorded with a wide circle of musicians, including Matt Ulery, Caroline Davis, Greg Ward, Marquis Hill, Nick Mazzarella, Charles Rumback, Quin Kirchner, Jean Caze, Mike Harmon, Dion Kerr, Matt Carroll, Greg Artry, Jeff Swanson, Paul Dietrich, Katie Ernst, Will Miller, Steve Pardo, Grażyna Auguścik, Urszula Dudziak, and JOLIE, among many others.
Equally active as a composer for the screen, Bedal has scored numerous short and feature films — including Care, which earned him a Best Composer nomination at the Idyllwild Film Festival — and his music has been featured at SOHO International Film Festival, SXSW, BIFF, Magnolia Independent Film Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, Summer in the South Film Festival, and others.
Bedal is a recipient of the Chicago Luminarts Fellowship Award (2014, 2015) for both improvisation and composition, and a 2021 Chicago DCASE Artist Grant supporting his quartet record Cerulean Stars. That same year, he was commissioned by the Six Mile String Quartet to compose a new piece for New Music Detroit's Strange Beautiful Music festival.
An active educator, Bedal served as an adjunct professor of jazz piano at Moraine Valley Community College (2017–2020) and taught at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. He has served as accompanist at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City and teaches at 92NY in Manhattan.
live
Upcoming Shows
discography
Discography
As a leader
As a sideman
Press
On Cerulean Stars, classical leanings and jazz formalism intersect with the post-freedom aesthetic of Chicago's storied avant-garde — Bedal provides the blueprint, and his cohorts color outside the lines. Neil Tesser, jazz critic
In Reverse is his most sophisticated and personal recording to date. Its inventiveness and accessibility are thanks to Bedal's brilliance — and that of his like-minded sidemen. Chicago Jazz Magazine
Everything comes together well on Mirrors, an album so well tempered that there's just no way it could go wrong — an achievement for Bedal as a player, composer, and leader. Nextbop
Chatter is a study in fascinating repetition: melodic and rhythm motifs are introduced and subtly altered as the soloists pursue counterpoint. It's a cerebral work, and the compositions and soloing throughout are superb. Ken Micallef, NYC Jazz Record
A clear impression of his style as a writer comes into focus, with each piece grounded in melodic designs that are generally intricate and atypical — in a good way. Textura
film
Film music
Bedal's film scores have been selected by SOHO International Film Festival, SXSW, the Blow-Up International Film Festival, Magnolia Independent Film Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, Summer in the South Film Festival, and others. Care earned him a Best Composer nomination at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema.
I have worked with Paul on two films and both turned out better than I could have ever imagined. He listens to the feel that you are wanting for the film and brings you back epic compositions from his musical arsenal. Beyond that, he acts as sort of a sound designer, listening for elements you want to focus on inside a scene. Caitlin Presberg, Director