St. Stephen’s inaugural season explores jazz piano. Fred Hersch, who opened the 2018-19 season on September 28 with a benefit performance and book signing, has also curated a series of solo performances that will continue through the spring. Drawing from four decades of experience as a musician and teacher, Hersch has selected three New York-based artists that are "bright young lights of the jazz piano scene":
• Thursday, November 8, 2018 | Glenn Zaleski
• Thursday, February 7, 2019 | Sullivan Fortner
• Thursday, May 30, 2019 (NEW DATE) | Micah Thomas
Curator's Statement: Fred Hersch
From my more than 35 years teaching jazz piano at many elite conservatories to my more than 40 years living in New York City and keeping an ear to the ground, I have been aware of—and in many cases, mentored—some of the bright young lights of the jazz piano scene. My series this year shines some light on three particularly strong solo pianists. Playing solo is a true test of pianistic resources, imagination, and awareness of all of the many historical styles of jazz piano. And these young artists are more than up to the task.
I met Glenn Zaleski when he was a participant in the Dave Brubeck Institute. He has since made a name for himself in New York with his fine trio and solo playing and in his duos with his saxophonist brother, Mark. He is beginning to tour internationally; more and more are becoming turned on to his considerable talents.
I first heard Sullivan Fortner in a master class when he was a student of Jason Moran's at the Manhattan School of Music some ten years ago. I was immediately impressed by the sparkle and rhythmic commitment in his playing. He has come to prominence working with trumpeter Roy Hargrove and vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant and is on his way to a deservedly big career.
Micah Thomas is the youngest of the three, still a student at The Juilliard School. I am already tagging him as one who has a unique style, as well as all the tools needed to make a major contribution to the world of jazz piano.
About Glenn Zaleski
Glenn Zaleski is one of the most in-demand pianists on the New York City jazz scene. Originally from Boylston, MA, Zaleski has made a name for himself playing with the likes of Ravi Coltrane, Lage Lund, and Ari Hoenig. His most recent album, Solo Vol. 1, was released in early 2018—his first solo piano album, as well as the first release from his own label Stark Terrace Music. In 2017 he released his second album for Sunnyside Records, Fellowship, prompting All About Jazz to note, "Glenn Zaleski has quickly become one of the most important pianists of his generation and it's easy to see why." His debut album, My Ideal, was released in March of 2015, also on Sunnyside, and received critical acclaim: Downbeat Magazine named it "sublime"; Jazz Times called it "an engaging set by a talent worth watching"; and The New York Times named the record a "strong statement," praising its "fluent but unhurried sense of phrase.”
Zaleski has also released two popular albums with the collective Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato: Limitless (Capri, 2013) and Anticipation (Capri, 2011), as well as a duo record with his brother, saxophonist Mark Zaleski: Duet Suite, 2010.
In 2011, Zaleski was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, as well as a finalist for the 2011 APA Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz. He attended the Brubeck Institute Fellowship program in Stockton, CA from 2005-2007, and then finished his undergraduate studies at The New School in 2009. From 2009-2011, while working towards his graduate degree at NYU, Glenn was also on NYU faculty, teaching a variety of classes and private students.
About Sullivan Fortner
Lauded as one of the top jazz pianists of his generation, Sullivan Fortner is recognized for his virtuosic technique and captivating performances. The winner of three prestigious awards—a Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship from the American Pianists Association, and the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists—Sullivan’s music embodies the essence of the blues and jazz as he connects music of all eras and genres through his improvisation.
The Sullivan Fortner Trio has performed on many of the world’s most prestigious stages including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Discover Jazz Festival, Tri-C Jazz Festival, Jazz Standard, and the Gillmore Keyboard Festival. Fortner has been heard with other leading musicians around the world including Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, John Scofield, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Fred Hersch, Sean Jones, DeeDee Bridgewater, Roberta Gambarini, Peter Bernstein, Stefon Harris, Nicholas Peyton, Billy Hart, Dave Liebman, Gary Bartz, Etienne Charles, and Christian Scott.
Fortner brings the same sense of musicianship to his recordings as he does to his live performances. His first album, Aria (Impulse Records) garnered acclaim by The New York Times and Downbeat Magazine as it showcases Fortner’s mastery at both rendering well-chosen standards and composing memorable melodies. Fortner’s highly anticipated sophomore album as a solo recording artist, Moments Preserved, was released in 2018. Fortner can also be heard on the recordings of Etienne Charles’s Kaiso (2011), Donald Harrison’s Quantum Leaps (2010), and Theo Croker’s Fundementals (2007). Most recently, he has recorded with Grammy Award-winning artists Roy Hargrove and Cecile McLorin Salvant on their highly anticipated albums.
Fortner’s foray into music education has resulted in master classes at today’s most formidable music institutions, including Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NoCCA), Purdue University, Lafayette Summer Music Workshop, and Belmont University (TN).
A native of New Orleans, Fortner began playing the piano at the age of seven and was hailed a virtuoso before he was out of high school. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from Manhattan School of Music.
About Micah Thomas
Pianist and composer Micah Thomas grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Since his sophomore year of high school, he has been gigging regularly with violinist Christian Howes, accompanying him on tours across the country—Thomas has been a regular faculty member at Howes’ annual Creative Strings Workshop since 2015. Thomas frequently appears with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra as a guest artist, performing with John Clayton and Joshua Redman for their 45th anniversary concert series in 2017, and has performed throughout Ohio with distinguished musicians including JD Allen, Billy Contreras, Eddie Bayard, George Delancey, Cedric Easton, and Bobby Floyd.
In 2015, Thomas moved from Ohio to New York to pursue a BM in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School and is now performing in venues throughout the city both as a leader of his own groups and as a sideman for such luminaries as Lage Lund, Etienne Charles, Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Gabe Schnider, Tivon Pennicott, Harish Raghavan, Stacy Dillard, and Joshua Redman. He appeared as a guest with Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2017 alongside Sullivan Fortner, Aaron Diehl, and Joel Wenhardt and performed solo piano at the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival.