Sterling Cozza

BIO Sterling Cozza is a pianist from Sacramento, California. He has been playing piano since he was 5 years old, and began studying jazz at age 12. He attended Rio Americano High School, where he had the honor of performing at events such as the Essentially Ellington Festival at Lincoln Center, the Charles Mingus Festival at the Manhattan School of Music, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and more. He began his private study with Joseph Gilman, the previous artistic director of the Brubeck Institute at University of the Pacific.

Early on, Sterling continued his studies outside of school at various summer programs, including the 5 Week Summer Performance Program at the Berklee College of Music, the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony, and the Lafayette Summer Jazz Workshop, to all of which he was awarded full scholarships. He also took part in the SFJazz/Mondavi Center High School All Stars program for three years under the direction of Mike McMullen where he honed his small-group playing, studying the music of the SFJazz Collective.

Sterling went on to study at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Harold Danko, Bill Dobbins, Gary Versace. He has shared the stage with the likes of Gary Bartz, Dave Liebman, Garrison Keillor, Avishai Cohen, Antonio Hart, Robin Eubanks, Donny McCaslin, Matt Wilson, Stefon Harris, Eddie Gomez, the Charles Mingus Big Band, members of the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and more. In 2017, he had the honor of taking part in a tour of Japan with the Eastman Jazz Sextet, culminating in a performance at the Tokyo Jazz Festival. He currently resides in Sacramento, California where he is working in various projects, including an album to be released in 2020.

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