Pianist-composer JEREMY SISKIND is "a genuine visionary" (Indianapolis Star) who "seems to defy all boundaries" (JazzInk) with music "rich in texture and nuance" (Downbeat). A top finisher in several national and international jazz piano competitions, Siskind is a two-time laureate of the American Pianists Association and the winner of the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition. Since making his professional debut juxtaposing Debussy's Etudes with jazz standards at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, Siskind has established himself as one of the nation's most innovative and virtuosic modern pianists.
Siskind's multifaceted career often finds him combining musical styles and breaking aesthetic norms. As the leader of "The Housewarming Project," Siskind has not only created "a shining example of chamber jazz" (Downbeat) whose albums often land on critics' "best of the year" lists. He's also established himself as a pioneer of the in-home concert movement by presenting well over 100 in-home concerts in 26 states. In 2020, the Housewarming Project was a winner of a $30,000 grant from Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works program (supported by the Doris Duke Foundation).
On a 2020 duo album, Impressions of Debussy, Siskind explores Debussy's Preludes through improvisation with saxophonist Andrew Rathbun. Similarly, his 2019 book-CD project, Perpetual Motion Etudes for Piano, blurs the line between classical, through-composed, piano etudes and jazz-based improvisations and invites other pianists to do the same through a beautifully self-published work that includes "Optional Improvisation Instructions" for each piece. Siskind has been experimenting with performing the pieces in collaboration with classical pianists, including Grammy-winner Angelin Chang, and through university residencies. Other projects include writing concert arrangements for rising star soprano Julia Bullock, composing the theme song for the 2017 Obie Awards, and serving as musical director for noted comediennes Lea DeLaria and Sandra Bernhard.
A highly-respected educator, Siskind has written 13 publications with Hal Leonard, including the landmark instructional books Jazz Band Pianist, First Lessons in Piano Improv, and Playing Solo Jazz Piano. He currently teaches at California's Fullerton College, chairs the National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy's "Creativity Track," and spreads peace through music in places like Lebanon, Tunisia, and Thailand with the non-profit organization, Jazz Education Abroad. Jeremy Siskind is a Yamaha artist.
A select member of jazz's piano pantheon, Fred Hersch is a pervasively influential creative force who has shaped the music's course over more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist. He has been proclaimed "the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade" by Vanity Fair, "an elegant force of musical invention" by The L.A. Times, and "a living legend" byThe New Yorker. A fifteen-time Grammy nominee, Hersch has regularly garnered jazz's most prestigious awards, including recent distinctions as a 2016 Doris Duke Artist, 2016 and 2018 Jazz Pianist of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association, and the 2017 Prix Honorem de Jazz from L'Acádemie Charles Cros for the totality of his career.
