Torrey is a brilliant musician and strong writer...definitely a talent to be reckoned with.
-Burt Bacharach
Torrey Newhart is a keyboardist located in Eugene, OR. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2014 with a Masters Degree in Music and was awarded "Most Outstanding Performer In Jazz Studies" the same year. Newhart performs well over a hundred shows, annually, with regional musicians in many configurations. He has recorded and/or released music with Mhondoro, Inner Limits, Jim Olsen, Idit Shner, Ratie D, Jack Radsliff, Brian McWhorter, Steve Vacchi, Tony Glausi’s Funk Nonet, Joshua Hettwer, Mastrogiovanni Ska Project, Tony Glausi, Jessika Smith, Michael Radliff, Paul Krueger, The Long Shots and Kevin McDonald in addition to his own albums Marmara and Sound In-Sight, a double-LP vinyl released in 2016 under the band name Obsidian Animals.
In addition to a performing career, Newhart is currently an adjunct instructor of jazz piano at both the University of Oregon and Lane Community College. From 2013-2023 Newhart was the choral director at the Academy of Arts & Acadmics (A3), a local high school in Springfield, OR. He also holds a private piano studio of about fifteen students.
Over the past decade, Newhart has supported the vibrant local jazz scene in Eugene by volunteering for the Willamette Jazz Society which operates The Jazz Station in Eugene, Oregon. From 2019-2022 he was the president of the board of directors and saw The Jazz Station through the forced closure of the pandemic, coming out on the other side with a remodeled venue and renewed internal operational structure.
Torrey’s most recent musical projects include a collaboration with Idit Shner, John Mambira, Garrett Baxter, and Ken Mastrogiovanni entitled Mhondoro and a rock/blues band with Olem Alves called Inner Limits. Mhondoro’s recent album Ngatibatanei was released in 2024 following their debut album Heat Wave in 2022. Inner Limits also released an album in 2024 called Rise to the Top after their debut albums Hit the Highway and Rewrites Vol. 1 were released in 2019.
Throughout 2025, Newhart began composing more music for Obsidian Animals and performed to a sold out crowd at The Jazz Station. He hopes to begin work on recording a second album with this group sometime in the next two years.