Performance Music at Scranton Presents Adam Birnbaum In Recital
Adam Birnbaum, one of the top young voices in jazz piano, will perform at The University of Scranton on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m.
Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present Adam Birnbaum, one of the top young voices in jazz piano, in recital on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission is free and open to the public.
Since receiving a graduate Artist’s Diploma in jazz studies from The Julliard School in 2003, Birnbaum has been making his name as one of the top young voices in jazz piano. He has become a presence on the New York City scene as a leader and sideman, has performed on many national and world stages, and is a recognized composer and arranger.
As a leader, Birnbaum has released two albums in Japan. His first, Ballade Pour Adeline, received a Gold Disk award from Swing Journal as one of the top albums of 2006. His U.S. debut Travels, released in 2009, received enthusiastic reviews in Allmusic.com, All About Jazz and JazzTimes. The Adam Birnbaum Trio has opened for both Brad Mehldau and Herbie Hancock. In 2006, Birnbaum’s quintet spent three weeks in residence at the Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. Birnbaum has appeared as a sideman on more than 15 albums.
Birnbaum studied at the New England Conservatory of Music before moving to New York City in 2001, one of two pianists selected to participate in the Juilliard School’s inaugural jazz studies program. In 2004 he won the American Jazz Piano Competition and became the American Pianists Association's Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz. That same year, he became the first jazz pianist to present a recital at the prestigious Gilmore Rising Stars Recital Series. In 2006, he received the first-ever "special mention" prize at the Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition in Paris. In 2012 Birnbaum was a guest artist at the Chelsea Music Festival in New York. He has toured West Africa and Asia sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department.
A Manhattan resident, he currently performs throughout the world with both Al Foster and Greg Osby, as a featured member of their ensembles, and is also a member of the rhythm section of The New York Trumpet Ensemble. Birnbaum’s latest recording as a leader, featuring the bassist Doug Weiss and the drummer Al Foster, will be released in early 2013.
For additional information, contact Cheryl Y. Boga, director of performance music, at music@scranton.edu, or visit www.scranton.edu/music.
