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Alan Blackman
Award-winning composer and jazz pianist.
About Me
Pianist and composer, Alan Blackman, has been a mainstay
in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore area for nearly a
decade. He has performed at Blues Alley, the Kennedy
Center’s Millennium Stage, and nearly all of the area’s Jazz
Festivals both as a freelancer and with his group the
Blackman/Barke Quartet. This group was runner-up in the
DCJazz.com international competition and the Takoma Park
Jazz Brawl. Alan has taught the jazz combos at Towson
University as well accompanied the Jazz Vocal Master
Class. In addition he has given private lessons through
Maryland Conservatory, Maryland Piano, and Howard
Community College.
Alan received a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Music and Jazz
performance from the University of Miami and a Masters in
jazz piano performance from Towson University.
Alan has worked for The Platters, soul artist Darlene Love,
and toured South America as Latin pop singer Milton
Cortez’s keyboardist in 1993. His folk and Broadway skills
were honed as pianist for both Karen Goldberg and national
recording artist Jane Olivor.
Recently, he was awarded the eastern regional songwriting
award by the Gospel Music Association and was selected to
be part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program at the
Kennedy Center in D.C. Alan released his first CD of original
music, Shadowdance, in January 2000 and is
currently working on his first jazz composition book tentatively
entitled, Changing Standards, which will be
accompanied by an audio CD of his original arrangements.
He received a Maryland State Arts Grant for 2007, 2009, and
2010 in Musical Composition as well the Creative Baltimore
Fund in 2010.
His new CD features Donny McCaslin and
Margret Grebowicz playing mostly originals and re-worked
pop songs from the Beatles and Peter Gabriel.