Results for "piano"

Alexander's Jazz Time Band

Active since: 2022

Alexander's Jazz Time Band is an eleven-piece ensemble modeled on the "hot dance bands" of the 1920's and early 1930's. Our programs feature toe-tapping renditions of popular tunes and jazz compositions from the Roaring Twenties, all in authentic period arrangements.  

We have been delighting audiences in eastern and central Massachusetts since 2022 with our historically informed performances of well-known standards and forgotten gems. Most of the arrangements in our book have been specially edited to incorporate transcriptions of recorded solos by early jazz greats such as Buster Bailey, Coleman Hawkins, Miff Mole, Red Nichols, and Arthur Schutt. Additional solos are provided by AJTB musicians, many of whom are superb improvisers themselves. 

Grant D Richards

Born: 1990

Grant Richards is an award-winning pianist, composer, and educator based in New York. A native of Portland, Oregon, he began playing piano at the age of eight and enrolled at Berklee College of Music on a full-tuition Jimmy Lyons Scholarship in 2009. He has since performed with Grammy award-winning artists Esperanza Spalding, Eddie Gomez, and Terri Lyne Carrington, as well as luminaries Simon Phillips, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Valerie Simpson.

A prolific bandleader and composer, Grant has released four albums as a leader over the past ten years to critical acclaim while performing extensively in the US and abroad. Over a career spanning two decades, Grant’s skillful versatility as a pianist and educator has brought him around the world, spending extensive time based in India and Japan before settling in NYC.

On The Count of Two

On The Count of Two is a musical conglomerate of promising young musicians across the East Coast. Recently, they have played at The Milestone in Georgetown, Connecticut, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Westport, Connecticut, and Jazz On Main in Mt Kisco, New York.

On The Count of Two consists of several promising young musicians who have studied and played with many prominent figures in the jazz scene:

Ikutaro Matsuki (Bass):

Ikutaro Matsuki is a bassist from Tenafly, New Jersey. He finished in 5th place in the Litchfield Jazz Camp Talent Search, a country-wide music competition judged by esteemed musicians including Albert Rivera, Don Braden, and Grammy award-winning pianist Zaccai Curtis. He is currently studying with 3-time Grammy award winning bassist Ron Carter, and has had the opportunity to play with esteemed jazz musicians including Winard Harper, Ron Carter, and George Coleman. He has attended Litchfield Jazz Camp for the past several years.

Zela Margossian

orn in Beirut, of Armenian heritage, Zela Margossian began studying piano at a very young age. Graduating from Hamazkaine’s Parsegh Ganatchian Musical College, she carries on her musical studies at the Lebanese Higher State Conservatory and at the same time, she continues her education in English literature at Haigazian University. Upon earning her B.A. degree in English literature, she leaves for Armenia to further her musical studies at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory in the class of the renowned pianist and professor Vili Sargsyan. In 2007, Zela earns her Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.

Oscar Rossignoli

Oscar Rossignoli is the musician New Orleans’ didn’t know it needed. No other pianist in the city can currently boast the level of chops or the improvisational acumen that have become the keyboard phenom’s calling cards. Raphael Helfand Anti-Gravity Interview 

The sounds that flow from Honduras-born, Oscar Rossignoli, when he sits down at the piano, are a reflection of the path he has taken, starting at age 6in the church worship band-where it was the drums that first captured his imagination--quickly followed, by an attraction to the piano. Then, throughhigh school at The National School of Music Conservatory in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where he began his classical training while at the same time, being captivated by the fearless improvisation of, Chucho Valdez, Arturo Sandoval, and Michel Camilo.

Digba Ogunbiyi

Born: September 26

Digba Ogunbiyi is a Nigerian jazz pianist and composer known for a unique playing and compositional style that blends the rhythmic nuances of Yoruba folk music with jazz and classical traditions.

A recipient of the Music society of Nigeria’s Steinway & Sons Piano Proficiency Award and a Doctorate from Eastman School of Music, Digba's music explores themes of identity and self-expression.

In 2024, while studying at the Eastman School of music, Digba received the Ray Wright prize, an award given to artists who embodies Ray Wright's spirit of artistry, dedication, versatility and entrepreneurship.

Dan Zawel

Born: April 5, 2004

Ever since Daniel Zawel began playing the piano at age 7, he has been fascinated by improvisation. This inspired consistent and committed study, and the development of Daniel’s distinct artistic voice. He is currently continuing his studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Since arriving in Rochester, he has established himself as a versatile and sought-after keyboardist, performing alongside musicians such as Bob Sneider, Rich Thompson, and Christine Jensen. He is also active as a bandleader, performing with his own piano and organ trios at Rochester’s most respected venues.

Andrew Wilcox

Born: October, 1997

Andrew is one of Hartford’s rising young musicians. Originally from Boylston, MA, Andrew has proven himself to be a talented young pianist, with a passion to learn, grow and play. After moving to Hartford at age 18, Andrew quickly sought out his elders and began building relationships with them. These relationships eventually turned into mentors and employers and Andrew has been seen alongside many of these musicians including Haneef Nelson, Nat Reeves, Yoron Israel, Avery Sharpe, Abraham Burton, Jonathan Barber, Alex Tremblay and Matt Dwonszyk.

A respectful student, Andrew was a student of Rick Germanson, Ralph Peterson, Orrin Evans, and the late great Stanley Cowell. Each introduced Andrew to other musicians, but Ralph Peterson introduced Andrew to Jazzmeia Horn, a musician who would time and time again give Andrew chances to prove himself. The most notable test was when Andrew was called as a last minute sub at the Newport Jazz Festival alongside Ms. Horn at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Ronn Yedidia's PROPHETS

Active since: March 16, 1984

Composer/Pianist Ronn Yedidia created PROPHETS in the early 1980's while still a student at Juilliard. Its music is often referred to as an innovative melding of contemporary Jazz and Classical idioms. Scored for a quartet of flute, piano, electric bass and drums, PROPHETS music is ultra-virtuosic and tightly constructed - mostly composed and only partially improvised. It draws its harmonic and gestural influences from many of the Jazz and Fusion streams in existence, as well as from certain Modern Classical traditions.  

In 1984 PROPHETS was recognized by Sony BMG's senior executive producer Thomas Frost. Frost produced the group's first studio recordings, which attracted much interest from record labels and world-renowned musicians such as Julius Baker, Gil Evans, Hubert Laws and many others. PROPHETS' unique sound was frequently heard on radio stations around the world.

Ansel Mauricio

Born: April 15

Born in New York City and shaped by the rhythms of two worlds, Ansel Mauricio is a young talent on the rise in the world of Contemporary Jazz. At just 15 years old — turning 16 on April 15 — he is already a student at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música of the Dominican Republic, where his artistry is developing at a pace that turns heads and silences rooms.

Ansel's musical identity is a fearless conversation between tradition and modernity. He cites Holger Marjamaa for his sonic expression, his maestro Gustavo "Gus" Rodríguez for his melodic improvisation and mastery of emotional continuity, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba for teaching him the power of space — in melody, in improvisation, in silence