Results for "Jazz Composer"

Mehmet Ali Sanlikol

Born: September 24, 1974

Grammy nominated composer and CMES Harvard University fellow (2013-15) Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol made his Carnegie Hall debut in April 2016 premiering his commissioned piece Harabat/The Intoxicated with the American Composers Orchestra. Other recent works have been heard at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall and on A Far Cry string orchestra’s several different recordings. He hails from Cyprus and Turkey, and is a Jazz pianist, a multi-instrumentalist, a singer, an ethnomusicologist as well as a full-time faculty member at the New England Conservatory. Sanlıkol was the recipient of numerous respected awards including the South Arts Jazz Road Creative Residency Grant in 2021, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Grant twice in 2016 and 2020 as well as the New Music USA Project Grant in 2020 and has been praised by critics all over the world for his unique, pluralist, multicultural and energetic musical voice. The Boston Globe noted that Sanlıkol’s “music is colorful, fanciful, full of rhythmic life, and full of feeling. The multiculturalism is not touristy, but rather sophisticated, informed, internalized; Sanlıkol is a citizen of the world”, “…and he (Sanlıkol) is another who could play decisive role in music’s future in the world.”

David Friesen

Born: May 6, 1942

Anyone acquainted with David Friesen's exceptional music quickly thinks of his creative universe. Ocean-deep in his sensitivity to the human spirit, Friesen is compassionate and his music founded on integrity and the pursuit of excellence.

Born in Tacoma, Washington May 6, 1942, he was raised in Seattle, though his first exposure to jazz music was at the age of 5 years in Spokane, Washington hearing in his home a friend of his sister Diane playing Boogie Woogie on his family’s upright piano. After this individual left the home, David went to the piano and tried to emulate what he had just heard…thus his musical career had just begun. His sister Diane played the piano and for many years growing up, together they would play four handed piano and spent many evenings playing the piano and singing. His parents Ben and Clara Friesen were not professional musicians, but his mother had played C Melody saxophone as a child and his father had a beautiful singing voice...especially at church David could hear his father’s beautiful voice harmonizing with the congregation when they would sing hymns. Far removed from the music world, His mother was a professional bowler and his father was a Life Insurance executive. However, both his parents supported his love for music and made it possible for David to explore music on many different instruments. His sister Diane’s love for the movies and acting as a child, eventually led her into a very successful career as an actress, her name known as Dyan Cannon .

Art Resnick

Born: March 20, 1941

Art started his career in Minneapolis playing keyboard with a blues band.  Influenced by jazz artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, he began to play jazz professionally. His first jazz album, Jungleopolis, released in 1972, received a 5-star review from Downbeat. Over the next 50 years, he has recorded several albums with well-known jazz artists and released several of his own as leader.

Art has played and toured with a long list of jazz greats, including George Coleman, Freddy Hubbard, Nat Adderly, Benny Golson, Gary Bartz, James Moody, Eddie Harris, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Bobby Shew, Richie Cole, Charles McPherson, Billy Hart, Mel Lewis and Victor Lewis.

Diana Torti

Born: May 25

Jazz singer, improviser and composer.

Internationally acclaimed vocalist Diana Torti, brings her breathtaking virtuosity to the forefront of her artistry, presenting music that is bold, beautiful and fearless. A visionary vocalist and improviser, Torti pushes boundaries through blending the evocative atmospheres of ancient music with the soulful nuances of her Mediterranean roots creating a deeply immersive sonic experience.



With a sound that is so versatile and intoxicating, ‘Diana's music is enveloping, taking you to new dimensions, making you lose yourself in floating and impalpable sounds, only to then find you again in the words’ (Giacomo Pisani), she has captivated audiences across the world at intimate jazz clubs and prestigious international stages. Exploring improvisation as a pure expressive force, blending her classical roots with avant-garde intensity, Torti is a masterclass in vocal versatility.



David G Bailis

Born: January 27, 1979

--DAVID BAILIS is a multi-talented musician best known for his skills as a guitarist and bassist. Equally accomplished as a composer, producer and educator, David has showcased his musical talents throughout the world, performing to sold out crowds at a range of venues from Carnegie Hall to Golden Gate Park.

In addition to touring as a guitarist for numerous artists, David was a longtime member of the renowned electro funk band Pimps of Joytime.
He is the former guitarist of Grammy-nominated singer/emcee and Fugees alum John Forte’s band and currently is the musical director and guitarist for Sierre Leone hiphop superstar Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew. David has been featured in a wide range of publications including Bass Player Magazine and the New York Times.

Nick Etwell

Born: May 30, 1974

After graduating from the Royal College of Music, London, in 1996, Nick was awarded the Archer Jazz Scholarship (Postgraduate) to attend Trinity College of Music, London, 1999-2000. Over the 20+ years since he has performed and recorded with a huge variety of well known artists from around the World, touring extensively in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. He has performed on the World’s most famous stages, including the Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican, the Royal Festival Hall, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club (London), Palais des Congres, L’Olympia (Paris), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne), the Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles), Red Rocks (Denver), Chicago Theatre (Chicago), The Ryman Auditorium (Nashville) and Madison Square Garden (New York).

Damian Kostka

Born: July 5, 1991

Damian Kostka is a talented Polish upright and electric bass player of the young generation, awarded many times at prestigious competitions in Poland and abroad.

He collaborated with many artists, e.g. Stanley Jordan, Chico Freeman, Mike Stern, Vinx De Jon Parrette, Jean Luc Ponty, Sarah McKenzie, Michael Rabinowitz, Leszek Możdżer. He performs permanently with the duet Skalpel, Włodek Pawlik, and the band Weezdobe Collective.

 He is also a double bass and bass guitar lecturer at the Jazz Faculty of Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań.

Skip Grasso

Born: December 19, 1965

Skip Grasso is a guitarist, composer, and educator based in Baltimore, Maryland.  He has performed in a wide variety of musical settings from solo guitar to big bands throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. His 2021 release Jagged Spaces with the Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble reached #31 on the JazzWeek chart. This recording of all original music featured four of his compositions including the title track. Following the success of Jagged Spaces, Skip was awarded the 2022 Pathways to Jazz Grant. In 2023, Skip released his debut recording as a leader Becoming which showcases him as both a guitarist and composer. The critically acclaimed recording introduced eight diverse originals in collaboration with Anthony Pocetti on piano, organ and electric piano, bassist Harvie S, and drummer Billy Drummond. Reaching #42 on JazzWeek chart, Becoming spent sixteen weeks in the top 100. As a sideman, Skip recorded The Don Junker Big Band’s Junkyard Dog, and The Hank Levy Alumni Band’s An Odd-Time Was Had By All. He has performed with such artists as Randy Brecker and The Lakewood Jazz Ensemble Big Band, singer Ethel Ennis, and saxophonists Chris Vadala, and Claire Daley.

heme japan

Born: February 6, 1971

heme japan is the band managed by OTAKA, jazz pianist.

Laszlo Gardony

Internationally acclaimed Boston-based jazz pianist and composer Laszlo Gardony is one of the most expressive and technically skilled pianists working in jazz today. “A formidable improviser who lives in the moment" (JazzTimes), Gardony has performed in 27 countries and released 14 albums: ten albums on the Sunnyside label, two on Antilles, and one on Avenue Jazz during his distinguished, decades-long career. Winner of the Great American Jazz Piano Competition, Gardony has been noted for his "fluid pianism" by The New York Times. The legendary Dave Brubeck called him "a great pianist."