2025 Solo Jazz Piano Festival
April 18 @ 7:30 pm - April 19 @ 10:00 am
At this celebration of solo piano in the jazz tradition, a collaborative spirit imbues the presentations of four distinguished headliners. The Festival includes performances, master-classes, a Q+A session plus interviews with the artists.
2025 headliners include Carmen Staaf, Johnny O’Neal, Sean Mason, and Luther Allison
2025 emerging artists include Estefanía Núñez Villamandos and Michael B. Carabello
For all music lovers, not just pianists, who are interested in both the practical and spiritual aspects of jazz and improvised music. We will hear six brilliant pianists (4 headliners and 2 emerging artists) perform and discuss their relationship to the instrument, to the jazz lineage, to structure and to artistic freedom. The piano is a finely crafted instrument that has been improved upon over the past three hundred years. It has been called “the orchestra of all instruments” because it gives musicians simultaneous access to harmonic, melodic and rhythmical possibilities, all with a refined sense of dynamics and touch.
In the Solo Jazz Piano Festival you will experience the myriad ways that artists who have invested their lives in the piano relate with the instrument. Since the festival started, in 2017, the VJC has hosted 54 pianists including NEA Jazz Masters Joanne Brackeen and Toshiko Akiyoshi. Other well-known musicians who have participated in the festival include Stanley Cowell, Helen Sung, Sullivan Fortner, Benny Green, Aaron Parks, Jacky Terrason, Sullivan Fortner and many others. In this year’s festival, each headliner will offer a masterclass and perform a 50 minute concert, emerging artists will perform 25-minute sets, and all pianists will come together for a lively panel discussion. All events will take place at the Vermont Jazz Center and will be livestreamed.
The VJC Solo Piano Festival was inspired by the donation of a Steinway Concert Grand piano by the McKenzie Family Charitable Trust. The VJC is extremely grateful to the Trust for this inspiring instrument, it continues to serve as a vehicle for artists to seamlessly transform their personalities and energy into musical sound and communicate directly with audiences.
Schedule
Friday, April 18
Feature Concert
7:30 Carmen Staaf Performance
Pianist/composer Carmen Staaf is a rising force in the NYC and global music scenes and serves as the pianist and Musical Director for NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater. She has performed with icons like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis, and Kenny Barron and graced stages such as the Playboy Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center, Village Vanguard, Blue Note, SFJazz, and major jazz festivals worldwide.
8:30 Johnny O’Neal Performance
Johnny O’Neal is a world-renowned neo-bop jazz pianist and vocalist from Detroit known for his virtuosic playing and natural swing. Influenced by jazz greats like Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum, he has performed with legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Nancy Wilson, Joe Pass and Kenny Burrell. A former member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, O’Neal made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 and portrayed Tatum in 2004 film, Ray.
Saturday, April 19 (starting at 10 am EST)
Educational Presentations
10:00 Carmen Staaf – “Rhythmic Framework for Improvisation”
11:00 Johnny O’Neal – “The inside scoop with Johnny O’Neal: Stories, Music, and Insights from a Jazz Legend”
12:00 Sean Mason – “Music and Personal Growth”
1:00 Luther Allison – Further information will be provided soon
2:00 Lunch
3:30 Estefanía Núñez Villamandos, Emerging Artist Performance – Estefanía Núñez Villamandos is a Cuban pianist, film composer, and arranger known for blending Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz, and film soundtrack influences. Currently a student in the Global Jazz Institute Master’s Program, she is working on a new album with her band, Meszas, while developing a thesis on music and schizophrenia.
4:00 Michael B. Carabello – Michael B. Carabello is a versatile pianist based in the tri-state area, trained at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. He’s performed with artists like Nat Reeves and Rene McLean at venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Newport Jazz Festival. Mike has also played at the White House and leads projects like Erica T. Bryan and the New Mosaic. He’s currently the Music Director at the Artists Collective, developing curriculum to teach African Diaspora music to children in Greater Hartford.
4:30 Pianist Panel Discussion (Juried Questions)
5:30 Dinner Break
Saturday Feature Concert (7:30 pm EST)
7:30 Sean Mason
Sean Mason, a renowned jazz pianist, composer, and music director, is celebrated for blending traditional jazz with contemporary influences. His debut album The Southern Suite garnered critical acclaim, and his recent project My Ideal was GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album. A versatile artist, Mason has collaborated with jazz legends such as Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Christian McBride, and Dave Liebman. He has also worked with contemporary artists like Masego and contributed to Broadway productions with stars such as Babyface.
8:30 Luther Allison
Luther is a bandleader, educator, composer and clinician based in New York City. He performs nationally and internationally with his trio and sextet and has performed on both drums and piano alongside Etienne Charles, Jazzmeia Horn, Rodney Whitaker, Samara Joy, Joe Farnsworth, Ulysses Owens Jr., Helen Sung. Currently, Luther is touring with vocalist Ekep Nkwelle.
