Jean-Michel Pilc

Born in 1960 in Paris, now an American citizen, self-taught pianist and composer Jean-Michel Pilc has performed with numerous jazz giants: Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Jean Toussaint, Rick Margitza, Martial Solal, Michel Portal, Daniel Humair, Marcus Miller, Kenny Garrett, Lenny White, Chris Potter, John Abercrombie, Mingus Dynasty & Big Band, Lew Soloff, Richard Bona etc. He has also worked with Harry Belafonte, as his musical director and pianist, and has performed a duet with the legendary opera singer Jessye Norman.

Jean-Michel moved to New York City in 1995. There, he formed a trio with François Moutin (bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums). They recorded a one-week engagement at the legendary jazz club Sweet Basil and, in 2000, released two CDs: Together - Live at Sweet Basil, NYC - Vol. 1 & 2 (A-Records). Pilc then signed a record deal with Dreyfus Jazz. His first album for Dreyfus, Welcome Home (featuring the same trio), was released in 2002. Jean-Michel's next recording, Cardinal Points, was released the following year. It featured his extended work Trio Sonata, created with generous support from Chamber Music America New Works: Creation and Presentation Program, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

In 2004, Jean-Michel released his first solo album, Follow Me (Dreyfus). Then he returned to trio format to record Live at Iridium, NYC, in 2004, New Dreams in 2006, and True Story in 2009 (featuring Billy Hart). This was also a period of intensive touring all over the world.

In 2009, Jean-Michel received his second New Works Grant from Chamber Music America, for the writing and performance of Modern Lights, a composition reflecting Charlie Chaplin’s work, and the inspiration Jean-Michel has gained from his movies. The project was premiered at the Caramoor Jazz Festival in August 2009.

Jean-Michel’s next two albums were both released in 2011 on the Motema label to great critical acclaim: Essential, a live solo piano recording, and Threedom, featuring his legendary trio with François Moutin & Ari Hoenig, which had re-formed in 2010 under the collective name Pilc Moutin Hoenig. There is also a documentary out by John McCormick titled Jean-Michel Pilc – A Portrait (2009, Living Jazz Archive).

In 2013, Jean-Michel was granted a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, in the Music Composition category. The project was an octet, Big One, featuring all new original music.

In 2015, Jean-Michel released What Is This Thing Called? his third solo album and first release for Sunnyside. Jean-Michel is also a virtuoso whistler, as documented on a solo piano & whistle track in the CD Christmas from the Blue Note (2010, Half Note).

Always a busy performer, Jean-Michel has been very active in 2013-2016 as a leader, performing mainly solo and trio, and touring many places including Japan, Taiwan, Europe, USA and Canada. He has also been in high demand as a co-leader and sideman, participating in numerous projects over the world and recording more than 10 CDs. Among these projects and recordings: duos with Kenny Werner, Sam Newsome, Sylvain Luc and the legendary Martial Solal, trio with Thomas Bramerie & André Ceccarelli Twenty, guitarist Teriver Cheung Hong Kong Episodes, Greek bass player Petros Klampanis Contextual, NYC drummer Tony Moreno Short Stories, Moutin Reunion Quintet Deep, Brazilian guitarist Fabio Gouvea, Dutch bassist Jasper Somsen, Danish bassist Mads Vinding, and many others.

At the same time, he released a book, It's About Music - The Art and Heart of Improvisation (Glen Lyon) and an educational video for all instruments, True Jazz Improvisation (JazzHeaven), followed by another video for JazzHeaven, Transcending the Instrument, about piano playing and practicing. All have been praised by his colleagues, and highly influential in the field of jazz education.

Since September 2015, Jean-Michel is a Professor at The Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal. There, he is teaching jazz, piano, and improvisation (all instruments), and also a Seminar on improvisation in all styles to 30 McGill jazz and classical students. He has acted as Jazz Area Chair between 2016 and 2018.

Jean-Michel also keeps releasing pedagogical material, including 2 video masterclasses on Improvisational Fluency for MyMusicMasterclass.com, as well as a masterclass in French, Anatomie d'un standard, for iMusic School.

Jean-Michel is currently working on several Montreal-based projects, as well as on new solo projects and on the "Improvisation Workshop Project," funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec -Société et Culture (FRQSC). He has released his fourth solo album, "Parallel" (Challenge Records) and gives solo concerts internationally. He also continues to play with NYC-based groups such as Pilc-Moutin-Hoenig and his US Trio with Sam Minaie and Jerad Lippi. He has also been a special guest of the Montreal-based "Orchestre National de Jazz" and a sideman of various Montreal musicians.

Jean-Michel is now a Justin Time Recording Artist. Several solo singles and EPs have been released, as well as new trio CD + EP "Alive - Live at Dièse Onze, Montréal" with Rémi-Jean-Leblanc & Jim Doxas. A solo album "Symphony" and a new Pilc Moutin Hoenig album will be released in 2023.

Jean-Michel is now also a Canadian citizen.

Awards

In 2013, Jean-Michel was granted a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, in the Music Composition category.

Show less

Tags

Multiple Reviews

Jean-Michel Pilc: A Portrait & True Story

Album Review

True Story by Joel Roberts
True Story by Karl Ackermann
True Story by Raul d'Gama Rose

"His densely harmonic reinventions of standards you thought you knew clearly shows a musical genius at work." Eric Brace, The Washington Post "There may be no more diverse, unpredictable jazz piano player, song to song, than Jean-Michel Pilc." Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes "A dazzlingly inventive pianist." Nate Chinen, The New York Times "Jean-Michel Pilc belongs right in the front row." John Fordham, Guardian Unlimited (UK, **** review) “One of the astounding jazz piano trios of the past decade.” Don Williamson, Jazz Review "Mr Pilc seems to have dropped from the sky fully formed, with technique and his ideas in place. He is a physical and densely harmonic player, a splashy stunner who also has a Rubik's-cube mind for chord substitutions." Ben Ratliff, New York Times "...visual art references come to mind: Cubist renderings of melody in which the original is reshaped into a completely different visual perspective; the shimmering opaqueness of Impressionism in some of Pilc's lush harmonies..." Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times "Follow Me" stands a major summation of Pilc's keyboard art, which has no counterparts. Pilc ranks among today's titans of the instrument... there's more to his art than the speed, precision and power of his 10 phenomenal fingers." Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune(2004 10 best jazz CDs) "I am absolutely stunned by the work of pianist Jean-Michel Pilc... The rhythm section sizzles under (his) leadership." Bob Dorough, vocalist. "...make no mistake about it, to his credit, Mr. Pilc is very unique... I would say that this trio starts at Mars, and then goes from there. Don't expect anything resembling conventional interpretations. This is fascinating and rewarding music..." Rick Helzer, Jazz Improv "The big discovery in the acoustic field was Jean-Michel Pilc. His sound is majestic, his statements urging http://otcpills.net..50/(link is external). Supported by an equally strong rhythm section it didn't take him much effort to get Carel-Willinck Hall steaming..." NRC Handelsblad, reporting on a North Sea Jazz Festival appearance. "While never dry or abstract, Pilc is a model for playing a little to say a lot." Mark Keresman, Jazziz "should be studied in every music school in the galaxy..." Harvey Siders, Jazz Times +Top 50 Picks for Critics Picks 2003 "...ridiculously well-balanced, and trading in the kind of grace that still has the power to shake a room. Keith Jarrett found something similar... Pilc's nudging it a bit further down the line." Down Beat, four Star Hot Box review

Show less

Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

Montreal

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Jean-Michel has also built a strong international reputation as a very unique educator. Between 2006 and 2015, he was a NYU Steinhardt faculty member, giving private lessons (piano and other instruments), ensemble classes and improvisation workshops. He was Co-Director of NYU Summer Jazz Improv Workshop in 2010. Jean-Michel also taught for the New School in NYC, as well as privately. At the same time, he released a book, It's About Music - The Art and Heart of Improvisation (Glen Lyon) and an educational video for all instruments, True Jazz Improvisation (JazzHeaven), followed by another video for JazzHeaven, Transcending the Instrument, about piano playing and practicing. All have been praised by his colleagues, and highly influential in the field of jazz education. Since September 2015, Jean-Michel is an Associate Professor at The Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal. There, he is teaching jazz, piano, and improvisation (all instruments), and also a Seminar on improvisation in all styles to 30 McGill jazz and classical students. He has acted as Jazz Area Chair between 2016 and 2018. Jean-Michel also keeps releasing pedagogical material, including 2 video masterclasses on Improvisational Fluency for MyMusicMasterclass.com, as well as a masterclass in French, Anatomie d'un standard, for iMusic School.

Clinic/Workshop Information

Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

Montreal

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Clinic/Workshop Information

My name is Jean-Michel Pilc, I am a jazz pianist & composer, and Assistant Professor of Jazz & Improvisation at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I moved there in 2015, after spending 20 years in the NYC area. More biographical information can be found on my website, www.jeanmichelpilc.com. My teaching is entirely based on my own experience as a self taught artist, who was hearing, then singing and tapping, then imitating, then playing music I loved. Before being a musician, I was, first and foremost, a music lover, and I am still in love of course. You’re probably noticing the intensive use of the word 'love' here. Well, I really believe that the best engine for progress is love; love for the music, love for discovery, love for the sensations that the musical act makes you feel, love for the sensual, physical experience which you not only enjoy, but also communicate to the listener. When you are really “in the zone” while playing, you become a listener yourself, you hear and feel the music coming out of you, and you find yourself in the center of a magical energy loop. You are both music emitter and music receiver. And when you improvise, this miraculous process becomes amplified organically by the personal, natural, instantaneous, spontaneous, unique, “in the moment” creation act which needs no explanation nor analysis. A real state of grace can then be accessed. You speak music, you are music, instead of just playing it. Music, like life, becomes an experience, a discovery, and a revelation. Music is an art, it is a language. Improvisation, like life, is an experience where senses play a crucial part. Science and discipline matter only insofar as the feeling, the passion, the fire, the love and the mystery are present. My philosophy and my goal when teaching music are to make sure you build your craft the right way, from good, strong fundamentals, and that, thanks to simple but original rhythmic, melodic, physical, vocal exercises, your instrument becomes your voice, not just a tool which stands in the way of your creativity. You will discover improvisation in the same way you discover life, and my exercices are based on simple but striking analogies between the two: breathing, walking, jumping, appreciating distances, driving, meeting people, having conversations... Fluency, fun and authenticity are the key words here. I want you to be a musician, first and foremost, not a theoretician or a trained expert. I want you to experience emotions, feeling, swing, groove, beauty, and, last but not least, pleasure. I want to convey to you the fire and the passion without which music is just a word. If my fire and passion can feed yours, then I will consider myself successful here! So… let’s get started. Rhythm will come first, and as you’ll see, there are already quite a lot of things we can do here. I will help you become a self taught musician, with autonomy, curiosity, passion, and... love. I will help you live improvisation to the fullest. I look forward to working with you.

Show less