Hot on the heels of his much-lauded, standing-room-only,
debut appearance at the 65th Annual Newport Jazz Festival, pianist Brandon
Goldberg leads his trio of Ben Wolfe on bass and Donald Edwards on drums (also
featured on Let's Play!) in continued celebration of his debut recording, Let's
Play!, with dates at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT (9/14), Keystone
Korner in Baltimore, MD (9/18), and the Birdland Theater in NYC (9/19). The
trio will be playing music from Let's Play!, standards and new music from
Goldberg.
What you experience when hearing pianist Brandon Goldberg
(who turned thirteen in early 2019) on his debut album, Let's Play!, is a
refined gift, sculpted by years in the woodshed, inspired by pianists
recognized by one name, Monk, McCoy, Chick, Bud and others, imbued with a pure
love and joy for this music and nurtured by a supportive family - all fortified
by the Florida sun!
What one hears frequently when talking about the young Mr.
Goldberg, is, "he plays sooo great . . . for any age! . . .". In fact
Wendy Oxenhorn (head of the Jazz Foundation of America) stated that,
"Brandon's phrasing and his bigger-than-life -genius makes it hard to
believe he is only 13. When he was 10 and performed at our Apollo concert, I
went on stage after and asked to see his drivers license because after hearing
him play and speak, I thought he had to be 44! Brandon is an old soul who will
keep this music alive in the new world." And, the legendary pianist Monty
Alexander added emphatically that, "this is a masterful performance for
this twelve year old, and not because he's a twelve year old but because he's
Brandon. Along with all of the cleverness, the sophistication and the tasteful
choices, this young man is swinging-swinging hard. Brandon is as affecting as
any other new artists appearing on the scene today. I am a fan."
Equal parts hard work, talent (an other-worldly talent!) and
passion are the ingredients for success, and precisely what you have in
Goldberg. "I started playing the piano to play the songs I liked in
preschool," he explains, "and my grandma introduced me to a lot of
music - Andrea Bocelli at first, then Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, which led
me to check out Tony Bennett with Bill Evans." Classical studies followed
and by age eight Goldberg was studying at The University of Miami and the
Litchfield Jazz Camp & Festival. Along the way Goldberg also studied
formally and informally with Matt Wilson, Avery Sharpe, Paul Bollenback, Ira
Sullivan, Shelly Berg, Chuck Bergeron and Don Braden. He went on to make
appearances on the Harrick Connick Jr. show, "Little Big Shots" with
Steve Harvey, sitting in with the aforementioned Monty Alexander at Jazz @
Lincoln Center, a performance at several Tedx Talks, and performing Haydn's
Piano Concerto No. 11 with the South Florida Youth Symphony. Regarding Florida,
Goldberg follows in the footsteps of many other prominent jazz musicians the
Sunshine State has produced, including Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Archie
Shepp, Junior Cook, Arturo Sandoval, Ira Sullivan and Marcus and E.J.
Strickland.
In conceptualizing Let's Play! Goldberg took great care in
the selection of music, and his band. "I really love this band. I've got a
special connection with both Ben Wolfe (bass) and Donald Edwards (drums) and
I'm so honored to be able to call them my friends and sidemen. Dan Miller, who
I met at All County Honors Band in Miami, introduced me to Ben when I was
starting to put together a band for my record. Ben and I got along immediately.
He helped me put the rest of the group together and suggested using Donald on
the record (who then nine-year-old Goldberg had played with while sitting in
with the Mingus Big Band), and I'm so glad he did. Then, we reached out to
Marcus Strickland to play on a few tracks - I was so excited when he said yes!
I am so happy to have these incredible musicians on my debut album and I really
feel like we all have a special connection on and off the bandstand. I call Ben
every two or three days and we talk on the phone for a good half hour. He's
always there to help me out with any questions I have musically and he's a
really great guy to talk to. I am really into drums and cymbals and that kind
of stuff so every time I hang out with Donald I get to geek-out with him. It's
such a fun group to play with and I hope you can hear our excitement in the
music."
Let's Play! (available now) is the premiere album from an
energetic, swinging new force on the piano, with a hopeful and happy side note
that he happens to be thirteen! Hopeful and happy, because this means we have
decades of new music to look forward to from this young artist.
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