The Journey by American Pianists Association

Episode 14: On the Road The life of a touring musician has its up and down, it's joys and frustrations. In this episode, pianists Helen Sung and Aaron Diehl and bassist Christian McBride discuss: Life on the Road.

Episode 13: What Comes Next for Emmett Cohen After winning the 2019 American Pianists Awards, Emmet Cohen's career is taking off! Listen to Emmet's debut as winner at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, and hear from Mack Avenue Records President Denny Stillwell and past Awards winners Drew Petersen and Aaron … Continue reading Episode 13: What Comes Next for Emmet Cohen →

The journeys of five finalists in the 2019 American Pianists Awards come together for the finals of the competition in Indianapolis. Featuring: two sets of solo and trio at a jazz club; performances with Kurt Elling and the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra in a concert hall; and four $20,000 checks and one $100,000 prize given to … Continue reading Episode 12: Winning Time! →

Episode 11: Dee Dee Bridgewater & Kurt Elling NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater and Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling talk with Lee Clifford about singing with the American Pianists Awards finalists in a short preview of the finals on April 6. Kurt will sing a jazz standard with each finalist, and Dee Dee will serve … Continue reading Episode 11: Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling →

Every American Pianists Awards competition requires the finalists to perform in collaboration with other artists, as collaborating and accompanying others are fundamental skills for any musician to develop. In this episode we explore the pairing of piano and string players through two such collaborations: on the classical side we talk with 2017 American Pianists Awards … Continue reading Episode 10: Collaborating – strings attached →

Episode nine of “The Journey” dives into the dynamic between singers and pianists from the perspective of 2015 American Pianists Awards winner Sullivan Fortner. We talk to Sullivan about his musical upbringing in New Orleans, explore his current approach to collaborating and hear him perform with great vocal talents including Cècile Mclorin Salvant, Dianne Reeves, … Continue reading Episode 9: Singing with Sullivan Fortner →

In Episode 8 of The Journey, we learn about the history of the American Pianists Awards through an interview with Joel Harrison, CEO and Artistic Director of the American Pianists Association. During the episode we'll hear excerpts from performances by Sean Chen, Spencer Myer, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Ellling and the five 2019 American Pianists … Continue reading Episode 8: American Pianists Awards past, present & future →

Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen is one of his generation's pivotal artistic figures. Downbeat praised the “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary” he employs to communicate with other musicians and audiences at what he terms “the deepest level of humanity and individuality.” Cohen plays with the command and passion of … Continue reading Episode 7: Improvising with Emmet Cohen →

Pianist, composer and educator Dave Meder is quickly becoming one of the prominent artists of his generation, known for a panoramic, genre-bending approach that has earned him slots in the American Pianists Awards and the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. He has performed in some of New York's most hallowed rooms, including several headlining … Continue reading Episode 6: pianist, composer and educator Dave Meder →

Episode five of The Journey features conversations with 2017 American Pianists Awards winner Drew Petersen along with classical music luminaries 1985 Awards winner Frederic Chiu, Jerry Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens and the late Charlie Hamlen.

Billy Test has taken inspiration from Brazilian musical culture and jammed on the summer festival scene with rock legends. This Pennsylvania native and New York City resident is an award-winning pianist, composer, arranger and educator. Billy graduated summa cum laude from William Paterson University in 2011 with a dual degree in jazz and classical piano … Continue reading Episode 4: Blues & more with Billy Test →

American Pianists Awards finalist Kenny Banks Jr. brings the soul of gospel and the heat of Atlanta to tunes both old and new. Raised by two parents who were also musicians, Kenny started to play the piano at age seven and has been passionately evolving his craft since. The Columbus, Ohio native moved to Atlanta … Continue reading Episode 3: Kenny Banks Jr. brings it →