Pianist Alan Broadbent contemplates his next song

Before he moves his family to New York this fall, pianist and composer-arranger Alan Broadbent will play a final recital as a local resident Saturday night. Part of the Jazz Bakery’s ongoing “Movable Feast” series, Broadbent, 64, cautions not to call it a “farewell concert.”

The soft-spoken New Zealand native says from his Santa Monica home: “People are making more out of this than they need to. The bulk of my work is as a touring musician, and I can do that from anywhere.”

Still, Los Angeles is losing one of the greatest living jazz pianists, and a composer-orchestrator who has few peers, if any. Broadbent’s orchestrations have enlarged the work of headline singers, including Diana Krall, Natalie Cole and Michael Feinstein, and Charlie Haden’s Quartet West.

One of Broadbent’s most consistent collaborators has been Pasadena bassist Putter Smith. Their musical rapport was nearly instantaneous. “It was pretty much from the first note,” Smith offers. “It felt like home right away. He was really inspiring, and we were always on the same page about what we were doing.”

“Alan is a great combination of his physical gift to play the piano and his work ethic,” Smith elaborates. “He’s got this great talent, but he’s worked like a dog to develop it. We’ve traveled thousands of miles together, and when we get on a plane, I take out Newsweek; Alan studies music scores.”

Pianist Rhonda Giannelli presented Broadbent’s trio frequently at Giannelli Square, the intimate recital hall in Northridge she co-owns with her husband. A track from Broadbent’s “Live at Giannelli Square” (Chilly Bin) album of last year garnered him a Grammy nomination. “That was so inspiring,” she says, “and it’s exactly why we created this space.”

Saxophonist Gary Foster will miss him too. They worked together on the “Dynasty” soundtrack, for which Broadbent wrote orchestrations. “Nobody does it better than Alan,” Foster says. “He’s one of the greatest talents I’ve ever encountered.” Their 1993 recording for Concord Jazz (“Alan Broadbent/Gary Foster”) remains a standard of sublime instrumental duets.

The move is tinged with nostalgia. As a 19-year-old music student from Auckland, Broadbent got his first glimpse of New York in 1966. “We sailed into the harbor,” he recalls with amazement, “in the middle of a blizzard. But I could just make out the Statue of Liberty and her torch.” Confused and alone, Broadbent was also awed: “New York City is the birthplace of the music that I love.”

He found his way to Boston, to begin his studies at the Berklee College of Music. Later he took the train into New York City each Saturday to study with Lennie Tristano, the pianist who was the first to codify a jazz study methodology. He would record in New York with Natalie Cole, Hilary Kole and Sheila Jordan; he also conducted at Carnegie Hall for Michael Feinstein and Diana Krall.

After two years on the road with the Woody Herman Orchestra (where his arrangements brought the band into the contemporary era), Broadbent settled in L.A. in 1972. After a couple of years of freelancing, he connected with singer Irene Kral. Together they elevated the singer-pianist format, resulting in her “Where Is Love?” album, which defied the jazz marketplace with its purity and unalloyed musicality. It took two years before any label would release it; when Choice Records did, it was rewarded with a Grammy nomination in 1976.

What about the music opportunities he’ll be leaving? “I play one night a month at Vibrato,” Broadbent points out. “As for orchestrations, people can seldom afford them. Sue Raney paid for her album ‘Heart’s Desire: A Tribute to Doris Day’ out of her own pocket.” As an afterthought, he adds: “I’ll miss hiking the Santa Monica Mountains and being able to walk to the beach.”

One New Yorker who awaits his move with open arms is vocalist Jordan. Broadbent arranged a string album for her: “Heartstrings.” From her Middleburgh, N.Y., home, she says, “Alan is a magical pianist for me. Those string quartet arrangements he did for ‘Heartstrings’ were so wonderful; I love him as a musician and as a person.”

Despite his reputation as a world-class pianist, Broadbent is humble about his move. “It doesn’t have anything to do with playing music; it has more to do with my wife and son. I’m not looking to crash the scene in New York. With Brad Mehldau, Geoff Keezer and Fred Hersch and all those fantastic piano players — what’s the point of trying to swim in that pool? I’m going with the utmost humility.”

At Saturday’s concert at the Steinway Piano Gallery, which holds about 70 people, Broadbent will play solo. Jazz Bakery proprietor and singer Ruth Price worked with him extensively over the years and is pleased that Broadbent will have a worthy instrument. “He’s got a beautiful Steinway D to play, and he won’t need any amplification,” she enthuses, before recalling a time when she performed with him: “Alan gave me a great compliment once that I’ve never forgotten: ‘Ruth, I really heard the truth of the song from you tonight.’”

More than most musicians, Broadbent has made the truth of the music his quest. In so doing, he’s been a great inspiration to the people around him. Giannelli sighs, “I’m sorry that we’re losing him, but we know he’ll be back.”

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