8th Solo Piano Festival

The Solo Jazz Piano Festival, now in its eighth year, is one of the cornerstones of the VJC’s programming. The festival has presented some of the world’s top pianists and most important musical innovators of this generation including NEA Jazz Masters Toshiko Akiyoshi and Joanne Brackeen, acknowledged luminaries Stanley Cowell, Benny Green, Sullivan Fortner, Kenny Werner, and many others.

Friday Feature Concert: Set I
Hey Rim Jeon

Hey Rim Jeon’s style is characterized by graceful melodic lines, attention to the spaces between the notes, and adroit technical facility. She is a celebrated teacher at Berklee College of Music, where she offers individual instruction focusing on piano technique. Ms. Jeon is recognized for her uncanny ability to use the language and phrasing of music to tell stories.

Set II
Aaron Parks

Aaron Parks’ creations are musical reflections of his search for meaning. He uses expressive phrasing, contrast and captivating arrangements that encourage spaciousness. He is a master of time-keeping. Parks has developed his own “inner drummer” by feeling rhythm in his body and conveying that pulse clearly no matter what the style or tempo. He is also adept at reharmonizing tunes from the Great American Songbook.

Saturday Feature Artists
Alfredo Rodríguez

Alfredo Rodriguez brings a vast knowledge of the Latin American piano tradition, replete with the virtuosic ability necessary to convey that style. His Cuban roots saturate his sound, which is also strongly influenced by the classical repertoire. Rodriguez feels that the “message of music is about expressing unity and about being together, knowing where we are coming from, and trying to help each other.”

Jacky Terrasson
Jacky Terrasson was a major presence in the vibrant New York jazz scene during the early 1990s when he earned first prize at the Thelonious Monk Competition. He is now based in France, where his star has continued to rise. Terrasson swings hard and incorporates lots of dynamic emphasis into his performances, emulating players like Ahmad Jamal. Listen to his use of interesting ostinatos (left-handed repeated figures) and rhythmical puzzles in his solo piano arrangements.

Saturday Emerging Artists
Yujin Han

South Korean-born pianist Yujin Han is a Presidential Scholar who has been studying with Danilo Perez and Kris Davis at Berklee college of music in the Global Jazz Institute and Jazz and Gender Justice Institute programs.

Mathew Mueller
Mathew is a senior at Amherst College. He grew up in the New Haven, Connecticut region, playing piano and singing in his Russian church choir. At Amherst he has been studying jazz piano, music theory and composition.

This year each concert will have both a limited in-person audience as well as a livestream component. You may purchase IN PERSON TICKETS HERE and/or donate to the livestream by clicking above.

The online streaming of this concert is offered by donation. Suggested donations: Full festival pass: $80-$120; Individual headliner concerts: $20 – $50; Saturday daytime pass: $60. Your contribution will go directly towards sustaining the Vermont Jazz Center’s mission of providing access to top quality jazz music to all as well as fair employment to jazz musicians.

Schedule

Friday & Saturday
April 19-20, 2024

ENTIRE EVENT LIVE STREAMED & IN PERSON

April 19, 2024
FRIDAY FEATURE CONCERT

7:30   Hey Rim Jeon Performance
8:30  Aaron Parks Performance

Saturday, April 20
EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS

10:00 Hey Rim Jeon – Embodying your Inner-ensemble in Solo Piano Jazz
11:00  Aaron Parks – Awakening the Music Within
12:00  Alfredo Rodríguez – A Glimpse into Jazz Improvisation
1:00    Jacky Terrason – Questions and Answers
2:00   Lunch Break 
3:30   Emerging Artist Performance: Mathew Mueller 
4 ;00  Emerging Artist Performance: Yujin Han
4:45   Panel Discussion + Q&A – All Artists
5:30  Dinner Break
SATURDAY FEATURE CONCERT

7:30  Alfredo Rodríguez Performance
8:30  Jacky Terrasson Performance

Production
Eugene Uman – VJC director / stage management; Elsa Borrero – production/graphic design; Michael Hanish-videography; Dan Langa – communications; Julian McBrowne –  sound / video; Sebastián Mitre -video; Jeff Starratt – photograph; Robby Roiter, Sam Lazzaro – staffing; Gerald Stockman – lighting design

Gratitude
The VJC’s Solo Jazz Piano Festival is a tribute to Mike McKenzie who, for the last 25 years has provided artists performing at the VJC with the finest pianos possible, including the Steinway D Concert Grand upon which this festival was founded. VJC is grateful to our many volunteers, and especially appreciative of our sponsors: Katy Oz, two members of the VJC Summer Jazz Workshop community and Dave Ellis. Their generosity is what has made this festival a reality. VJC acknowledges support from the Vermont Arts Council, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts for their steadfast support and appreciates the excellent, pro-bono work by William Ballard and the exquisite care by Crystal Fielding as piano technicians.