Results for "piano"

Mark Flugge

Born: January 27, 1962

Mark Flugge is well-known as a pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader in the Central Ohio area and beyond. Recent soloist appearances include performing “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra (2011), the Capital/Bexley Orchestra (2009), the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (2006 and 2010), and the Westerville Symphony (2004). He was the musical director for the "Birth of the Cool" with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra in May, 2011, and was the bandleader for the Opera Columbus production of Kurt Weill's "Berlin to Broadway" in September, 2010

Butch Lacy

Born: April 16, 1947

Philippe LeJeune

Born: February 2, 1954

French pianist Philippe LeJeune is a perfect example of the mixture of jazz and blues which was especially an important strain in the jazz tradition. The young pianist attended a 1968 concert in Reims, France, by master boogie-woogie and blues pianist Memphis Slim, and immediately put an end to his classical efforts and began teaching himself the blues, scouring local record shops for LP’s by boogie woogie greats. In 1980 he was invited by Memphis Slim who had been a parisian citizen since 1962 to cut an album titled « Dialog In Boogie » as a piano duet. The French blues and boogie woogie pianist is one of those rare European pianist who is able to take part in the grand tradition of American jazz mixing swing, a sense of melody and the blues

Lewis Porter

Born: May 14, 1951

Lewis Porter (PhD, Brandeis, 1983) is a jazz pianist, composer (of everything from leadsheets to works for orchestra and soloists), an author, a Professor of Music at Rutgers University in Newark since 1986, and founder and director of the Master's Program in Jazz History and Research there since Fall 1997. A leading scholar and historian of all eras of jazz, he has dedicated his career to raising the standards of jazz scholarship, and to mentoring young scholars worldwide and in his Master's program. Before 1986, he taught full-time at Tufts, and part-time at Brandeis (while earning his PhD there in music history, which he received in 1983). He has also taught part-time at the New School, Manhattan School of Music, Jazz At Lincoln Center, and as a guest at numerous colleges in the US and Europe. He is an author or coauthor of seven books and numerous articles on jazz, and a consultant to record producers, publishers, and producers of jazz radio shows and films. He is a frequent guest on radio (NPR, WNYC, WBGO, etc.), often quoted in print (NY Times, Star Ledger, etc.) and occasionally appears on TV and film (BET, BBC). He was Jazz Talk moderator for 2006-9 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he organized and led four panels a year. He made numerous media appearances in 2005 about his role in researching and releasing the Monk/Coltrane Carnegie Hall recording. He was nominated for a Grammy in 1996 (under Best Historical Reissue) for his role in producing the boxed set of Coltrane's Atlantic Recordings. Dr. Porter has performed extensively as a pianist—check out VIDEOS where you will see him with Dave Liebman and others. Under MUSIC you will find information about his CDs, and audio samples. The critics rave: "A HELLUVA PIANO PLAYER" (Jazz Times). "(Porter plays) with a lively glitter and amazing sense of assurance." "Mixing experimental with traditional, (he) plays up a storm." "Porter is a deep thinker (whose music is) founded upon depth and cunning use of space." He is also increasingly active as a composer, not only for jazz combos but for larger groups—his three-movement concerto for saxophone and orchestra will be performed by Dave Liebman at Harvard U, April 19, 2012. He is accepting commissions for more such works. These are not "jazz arrangements," but original through-composed pieces influenced by the language of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as jazz.

His first book, Lester Young (1985), appeared in a revised edition in 2005 (University of Michigan Press), with an added photo section and CD guide. Porter edited A Lester Young Reader, coauthored Jazz: From Its Origins to the Present (with Michael Ullman, and Ed Hazell; Prentice-Hall,1992), compiled an anthology of historical articles and his own essays (Jazz: A Century of Change, Schirmer Books, 1997), edited The John Coltrane Reference (Routledge 2008), and published the acclaimed study John Coltrane: His Life and Music (University of Michigan Press, Jan. 1998; Italian and French editions, 2007). The latter book won the 1999 Jazz Research Award from the Association of Recorded Sound Collections, and the Prix du livre de Jazz ("Best Jazz Book of the Year") from the Academy of Jazz in Paris. He is editor of Dave Liebman's autobiography which will be out at the end of 2011. Under PUBLICATIONS you will find more info about these and more.

From 2002-2010 he was editor for a series of books on jazz for the University of Michigan press, and he completed a jazz encyclopedia which was published at Jazz.com. He is editor of the comprehensive ,John Coltrane Reference book (Routledge, 2008). He is founder and formerly co-editor with Professor John Howland of the peer-reviewed journal, Jazz Perspectives, which began publication early in 2007 and quickly became one of the leading journals in the jazz field. His latest project is a blog at WBGO.org entitled "You Don't Know Jazz," where in each installment he presents previously unknown and groundbreaking research on every aspect of jazz from its African roots to the present day.

Lewis Porter has a fast-rising profile as a jazz pianist (Steinway preferred) and keyboardist (Yamaha Motif synthesizer, 76 keys). Known for a free and open attitude, he can contribute to any type of musical situation. His own groups swing like mad, taking a loose, open attitude to standard tunes and to Porter's own original compositions. Porter has appeared in concert with such masters as Dave Liebman, Ravi Coltrane, Judi Silvano with Joe Lovano, Jeff Coffin, Jane Ira Bloom, Wycliffe Gordon, Joe Morris, Marc Ribot, George Garzone, Mark Dresser, Gerry Hemingway, Don Friedman, Alan Dawson, Joe Cohn, Gregg Bendian and many others. He is a regular member of the Indian-influenced group Dharma Jazz with Badal Roy, Freddie Bryant, and percussionist Karttikeya. He often amplifies his concert appearances with lectures, workshops, and master classes. Especially in demand are his talks on Coltrane, and his master class for pianists on technique and improvisation. In just the 07-8 school year, Porter was guest lecturer and/or performer at U of Penn, The U of the Arts (Phil., PA), Berklee College, BU, Northeastern, MIT, Worcester Polytechnic U, U of North Texas, Houston High School of Performing and Visual Arts, the public schools in Greece, NY, Eastman School of Music, and William Paterson U. In 2009 he was in Spain, Germany, Israel and Italy.

Larry Fuller

Born: July 14, 1965

Larry Fuller is an internationally acclaimed American jazz pianist, composer and clinician known by critics and fans to "swing like a beast!”. He is a Yamaha-endorsed Artist. Early in his career, Fuller’s undeniable talent earned him the position of musical director and pianist for vocalist Ernestine Anderson. He then went on to play in drummer Jeff Hamilton’s Trio, bassist Ray Brown’s Trio, and John Pizzarelli’s Quartet. Today, Fuller leads The Larry Fuller Trio. He is consistently praised for their emotive, swinging style, monster technique, and program versatility

Eldar Djangirov

Born: January 28, 1987

The New York Times described the New York based pianist Eldar Djangirov as "a blend of musical intelligence, organizational savvy, enthusiasm and prowess that was all the more impressive for seeming so casual… an ebullient impressionist." Dr. Billy Taylor said, "Eldar Djangirov's playing shows brilliancy, complexity, and discipline... he's serious about his music, he's thoughtful about what he does.” Jazz Times said, “Maybe he made a pact with Lucifer to be the greatest pianist ever." Praised as “a genius beyond most young people I've heard” by Dave Brubeck. Downbeat magazine stated that "his command of his instrument is beyond staggering." When Eldar Djangirov (pronounced john-'gear-ov) was signed to Sony Classical at the age of 17, the young pianist from Kansas City was already well known for his prodigious pyrotechnics and precocious knowledge of the bebop tradition

Ronny Johansson

Born: April 26, 1942

Ronny Johansson, born in 1942, is a Swedish jazz pianist and composer. He started his career in Uppsala, comping the legendary Eric Dolphy in 1961. He also had the privilege to play with some other great American musicians visiting Sweden, like Art Farmer, Benny Bailey, Red Rodney, Warne Marsh and Don Byas a.o. Also some Swedes of course. Among them Lars Gullin, Putte Wickman, Rolf Ericson and Rolf Billberg. Ronny Johansson was a piano teacher for 34 years at the School of Music, University of Gothenburg. He retired in 2009 and today he mainly performs with his trio, formed in 1995. The trio has released six CD:s since ”Jubilee” in 2002, the latest called ”New Jubilee” and came out in 2012. Ronny Johansson´s most recent recording is titled ”Japanese Blue”, a solo piano CD from 2014.

Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker Biography

Pianist and composer Nancy Walker has been recognized with honours Canada-wide, including the Montréal Jazz Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz, the National Jazz Awards Keyboardist Of The Year Award, a JUNO nomination for Instrumental Album Of The Year, and an induction into the Mississauga Music Walk Of Fame. A dynamic improviser, an artful composer and a responsive accompanist, Nancy has been praised both for her work as a solo artist and as a musical collaborator. As a side player she can be heard on a wide range of recordings, by artists from saxophonist Kirk MacDonald to vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow to children’s entertainer Raffi. More recently she can be heard on the 2024 recording Here’s To Life by John Neudorf (on which she was both pianist and co-producer), and Sarah Jerrom’s 2025 JUNO-nominated Magpie.

Ben Schwendener

Pianist Ben Schwendener sustains a unique voice in contemporary creative music and natural pedagogy, and is a leading authority on George Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. As a critically acclaimed pianist/composer, he has created music for dance companies, film, commercials and art installations. He has also written many volumes of children’s piano music, and toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan with his ensembles and on solo piano. His music can be heard on Label Bleu, Gravity Records and Alabaster. Ben was an Editorial Assistant to the late George Russell

Rebeca Mauleon

Rebeca Mauleón is an internationally acclaimed musician, bandleader, composer, GRAMMY-nominated producer and educator as well as author and reviewer. As a pianist Mauleon follows a long-standing tradition of Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz performers, and her expertise in Afro-Caribbean and Latin American music places her at the forefront of the musicological community, resulting in a multidimensional career spanning over three decades. From her recording and performing work with an array of Grammy-winning legends including Tito Puente, Carlos Santana, Steve Winwood, Joe Henderson and Mickey Hart, to her diverse compositional projects (ranging from symphonic works and Afro-Cuban jazz to music for film, television and computer software companies), and her critically-acclaimed recordings, books and articles, Mauleon has carved a distinct niche as one of the most multi-faceted artists on the world music scene. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Salsa Guidebook and 101 Montunos, and is also musicological consultant and author to National Geographic, Time Life and other important institutions