Event
Julian Waterfall Pollack Trio - Teenage Pianist Soars into the Future
"I want to be the first to say it: Julian is a genius."Jazz legend Albert "Tootie" Heath
Julian Waterfall Pollack is making jaws drop with his mature piano playing. Only 17 years old, he isn't merely good for his age. He is simply very, very good. He combines an impressive keyboard mastery with the exuberance of youth, creativng a style writer Andrew Gilbert of the San Jose Mercury News calls "quick-witted and a little mischievous."
Reviewing Pollack's recent CD, Goin' for It, Richard Scheinin, also of the Merc, said, "[Pollack's] been turning heads for a while now, because his playing is loose, confident, rhythmically assured and emotionally committed. "
This bright young star has already performed with the likes of Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton and Miguel Zenon, at prestigious venues such as Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Lincoln Center, Yoshi's, and Montreux, Umbria and Monterey jazz festivals. He's also won a barrelful of Downbeat Student Musician awards, as well as the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts "Level One Gold Prize."
Pollack displays his impressive stylistic range and his talent for innovation on Goin' For It, for which he was joined by two of the Bay Area's most in-demand musicians, bassist David Ewell and drummer Darrell Green.
As Andrew Gilbert noted, "Pollack may have started Goin' For It as a student, but with the completion of his first album, he has earned the right to teach some lessons of his own."
The CD finds Pollack ability to successfully and intriguingly re-imagine familiar jazz standards. He creates a new melodic and rhythmic structure for Miles Davis' "Four", and a scintillating re-harmonization--with a hip-hop backbeat no less--of John Coltrane's famously complex "Giant Steps."
In addition to his Downbeat and NFAA awards, Pollack earned 1st Place, Combo Division in 2005 & 2006, and "Outstanding Combo Soloist" from 2004 through 2006 at Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation Festival. He's been the principal pianist for the SFJAZZ All-Star High School Ensembles program for all four of his high school years, making him the very first full-scholarship student of the program.
And as Rich Scheinin said, "[Pollack] is still very much in process . . . . Yet that's the enjoyment of it -- getting to hear where a young player is now, and imagining where he will be in a few short years."
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LocationJazz at Pearl's
256 Columbus Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94133
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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