Pronounced: "Josh-Uh-Wa"
“Joshua has immense talent … I was impressed by his daring and
courageous approach to
improvisation on the cutting edge of innovation. He is his own man…” –
HERBIE HANCOCK
Pianist Joshua White (born August 17, 1985) had parallel musical
training in both classical
and gospel music traditions before encountering jazz music at the
University of California,
San Diego summer camp in 2003. He began formal piano training at the
age of seven and became
the organist/pianist for the Encanto Southern Baptist Church by age
10. After competing in
several classical piano music competitions, Joshua (at the age of 18)
chose to focus his
musical studies on jazz and improvised music, drawing inspiration from
its many innovators.
He dove into the music head first with the help of world-renowned
musicians like composer
Anthony Davis, saxophonist David Borgo, flutist Holly Hofmann and
piano master Mike Wofford.
”Joshua was the most devoted student I've ever worked with by far,”
says Wofford.
”Absolutely focused and with a great intuitive grasp of the music,
even at that early
stage.”
In the nine years following, White has made incredible strides through
the Southern
California jazz community, playing with virtuoso trumpeter Gilbert
Castellanos, alto
saxophone legend Charles McPherson, tenor saxophonist Daniel Jackson,
and former Anthony
Braxton sideman, Mark Dresser. Dresser hand-picked the young musician
for his West Coast
Quintet, which featured saxophonist Tripp Sprague, virtuoso trombonist
Michael Dessen and
drummer Duncan Moore. “Josh is a super-bad young pianist,” Dresser
said. “I see him as a
singular talent. He brings so much to the table.” White's virtuosity
is never about empty
displays of technique. He has the uncanny ability to blend the overtly
lyrical with passages
of tumultuous tension without losing the listener in the process. He
is, in short, a
cultural improviser, taking his inheritance and venturing into
possibility.
In 2011, White entered the prestigious Thelonious Monk International
Piano Competition in
Washington D.C., ultimately placing second out of 160 competitors from
around the world.
Herbie Hancock was one the judges. “Joshua has immense talent,”
Hancock told music critic
George Varga of the San Diego Union Tribune. “I was impressed by his
daring and courageous
approach to improvisation on the cutting edge of innovation. He is his
own man. I believe
that Thelonious Monk would have been proud of the performance of this
great young artist...”
New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff was at the competition. “He
pressed hard against the
rhythm section and improvised with form, telling the bassist Rodney
Whitaker and the drummer
Carl Allen what to do and when, accelerating and decelerating,
suddenly going free. (Nobody
else did that.) … Mr. White used a lot of dissonance and clutter, but
it was provocative,
chord-related clutter, not the brilliant-soloist kind made mostly with
the right hand. It
was a sound worth returning to…”
For the last several years, White has been in demand as one of
Southern California’s most
creative and technically accomplished jazz pianists. He has performed
regularly at Dizzy’s
San Diego, Blue Whale, the Jazz Bakery, the Athenaeum Music and Arts
Library, and numerous
other venues. In 2010, White recorded a solo album featuring
spontaneous interpretations of
jazz standards, and this effort was praised by such luminaries as
pianist Geri Allen. He can
also be heard on drummer Russell Bissett's trio disc, Dream Street,
with bassist Rob
Thorsen, and on bassist Danny Weller's album Third Story, with Jeff
Miles on guitar and Jens
Kuross on drums.
Formed in May 2012, the Joshua White Quintet is a Southern California-
based group focused on
interpreting original compositions, as well as exploring the
boundaries of collective
improvisation. The JWQ features trombonist Michael Dessen, Gavin
Templeton on alto
saxophone, Dave Robaire on bass, and Dan Schnelle on drums. With
Joshua’s enthusiasm and
phenomenal dedication to music, he is sure to become one of jazz’s
major talents.
