A Night of Musical Masters

Three multi-generational piano virtuosos join us for a night of musical fireworks. Each able to bring their talents to a wide variety of musical genres. Joel A. Martin reveals a “Jazzical” sound combining classical and jazz in a genre uniquely his own. Isaac Harlan combines the sounds of jazz, Broadway, and classical to highlight his musical flair and emerging star prodigy Matthew Whitaker takes the stage integrating pop, jazz, classical, R&B and gospel. Three widely talented pianists, and their special guests in what is sure to be one unforgettable evening. 

Special guests for Joel A. Martin include dummer Jon Berger and bass player David Dunaway.

Special guests for Isaac Harlan include singer Michael McElroy, tap dancer Sydney Burtis, drummer Joe Spinelli, bass player Jerry DeVore, and choreographer/dancer Abdur-Rahim Jackson.

Special guests for Matthew Whitaker include bass player Karim Hutton, percussionist Ivan Llanes Montejo, drummer Johnny Steele, guitarist Marcos Robinson, flautist Gabrielle Garo, singer Michael McElroy, and a choir made up of Casey Erin Clark, Mia Gerachis, Danielle Lee Greaves, Desiree Rodriguez, Ben Roseberry, Alison Semmes, Will Stone, and Nikisha Williams.

Joel A. Martin – Joel A. Martin, the creator of Jazzical®, is a classical and jazz pianist, producer and composer who has collaborated with Grammy® Award-winners Alan Menken, Kathleen Battle, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, cellist Eugene Friesen, and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jaimoe of the Allman Brothers. At age 17 Joel was the youngest and the first African-American pianist to compete in the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He has soloed with the NY Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, among many others.

Isaac Harlan is a Pittsburgh native who studied piano at Penn State University. Since 2010 he has worked in NYC as a pianist, music director and orchestrator. Isaac has played concerts for Norm Lewis, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Eden Espinosa, and Brandon Victor Dixon, and has also had the pleasure of working on developing musicals by writers such as Tituss Burgess, Alex Gemignani, Michael McElroy, and Black Thought. He accompanies the younger generation of singers through his work with NYU, YoungArts, and the National High School Musical Theatre Awards. Isaac also works with the Broadway Inspirational Voices, a grammy-nominated gospel choir, as a pianist and orchestrator. Most recently, he played piano for the Off-Broadway production of Black No More at the Signature Theatre as well as for a recent workshop of Pal Joey.

Matthew Whitaker – Born in 2001, Matthew Whitaker’s love for playing music began at age 3, after his grandfather gave him a small Yamaha keyboard. At 9, Matthew began teaching himself how to play the Hammond B3 organ. Four years later, he became the youngest artist to be endorsed by Hammond—in its 87-year history. He was also named a Yamaha Artist at 15, becoming the youngest musician to join the stellar group of jazz pianists. He’s toured both in the US and abroad, performing on prestigious stages around the country including Apollo Theater, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts, SF Jazz Center, Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, and at international venues in France, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, UK, Australia, Switzerland, Portugal, Japan, Spain, Morocco, and South Korea to name a few. Matthew’s television appearances include FOX TV’s Showtime at the Apollo, the Today Show documentary series “Boys Changing the World,” the Harry Connick Jr Show an appearance on the syndicated TV talk show Ellen and a feature segment on the most-watched news magazine on television CBS 60 Minutes!

*This event is a part of Our Second Annual Music and Dance Festival.