Joseph Alan Gilman (born June 27, 1962) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
pianist from
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
. He has taught at
American River College
American River College (ARC) is a public community college in unincorporated Sacramento, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System.
History
The college was opened in 1955 as American River Junior College, on the site ...
and
Sacramento State University
California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...
in Sacramento and the
Brubeck Institute
The Brubeck Institute was a special program at the University of the Pacific's Conservatory of Music. It was founded in 2000 by noted Jazz pianist and Pacific alum Dave Brubeck
David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) w ...
in
Stockton, California
Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...
.
Background
Gilman began studying piano at the age of seven and later earned degrees in piano performance and jazz studies at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
, a master's degree in jazz and the contemporary media from the
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.
It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...
, and a doctorate in education from the
University of Sarasota. He studied with
Yuriy Oliynyk, Jerry Murphy, Frank Wasko, David Baker, James Tocco, Karen Shaw, Bill Dobbins, and Rayburn Wright.
In 1992 he began directing the music theory and jazz studies programs at American River College,
and released the album ''Treasure Chest'', with
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...
,
Jeff "Tain" Watts
Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is a jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others.
Biography
Watts got the nickname "Tain" from Kenny ...
, and
Robert Hurst.
In 1997, Gilman founded Capital Jazz Project, a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization which features thematic jazz presentations.
In 1998 and 2000, Gilman toured twelve countries on the African continent as a part of the Kennedy Center/USIA Jazz Ambassador program. The tour included regular performances with jazz guitarist Steve Homan to foreign dignitaries and resident audiences, performing with local musicians, and offering lectures and clinics to aspiring jazz performers.
From 1997 to 2004, Gilman was a regular finalist in
The Great American Jazz Piano Competition in Jacksonville, Florida. He was the grand prize winner in 2004.
In 2004, Gilman began a series of albums for
Sunnyside Records
Sunnyside Records is an American jazz record company and label established by François Zalacain in 1982 initially to release an album by pianist Harold Danko. Albums by Kirk Lightsey and Lee Konitz soon followed beginning a sequence of releases ...
and
Capri Records
''Capri Records'' was a rock and roll record label established in Conroe, Texas by Huey P. Meaux and Foy Lee in the early 1960s. It started the careers of many Texas musicians and furthered the careers of Gene Summers, Gaylon Christie, Scotty ...
featuring interpretations of the music of
Dave Brubeck
David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
and
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
. His later recordings presented musical interpretations of Contemporary American painters (''Americanvas'') and the sketches of
M.C. Escher
Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints.
Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for most of his life neglected in th ...
(''Relativity'').
From 2005–2012, Gilman was music director of the Brubeck Institute in Stockton, California, and artist in residence from 2012–2014.
In 2006, Gilman became a regular accompanist to jazz vibraphonist
Bobby Hutcherson
Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album '' Components'', is one of his best-known compositions.Huey, Steve. "Components – Bob ...
, and has since toured the Blue Note jazz clubs in Japan, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola and Birdland in New York, Jazz Alley and
The Triple Door
The Triple Door is a dinner theater, lounge and music venue founded in the fall of 2003, located at 216 Union Street in Seattle, Washington. The building often hosts concerts for Folk music, folk, independent music, indie, and World music groups. ...
in Seattle, Yoshi's in Oakland and San Francisco, the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, and jazz festivals such as Estoria (Portugal) Pescara and Umbria (Italy),
Jazz Baltica
Jazz Baltica is a jazz festival which was started in 1990. Up until 2011 it was held every summer in Schloss Salzau (Salzau Palace) near Kiel, Germany, and the coast of the Baltic Sea. In 2009 the festival was directed by Bengt-Arne Wallin and in ...
(Germany), Sedona (Arizona), and Boston.
Musical influences
Although originally influenced by
ragtime music
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...
, Gilman in his teens discovered jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. Later he listened to the recordings of
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
,
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...
,
McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...
,
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
, and
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
. Because of his classical studies, Gilman has also incorporated the concepts of
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
and
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
.
Discography
* 1987 ''Joe Gilman'' (Artful Balance)
* 1988 ''Artfully Beatles'' (Artful Balance)
* 1990 ''Here, There, and Everywhere'' (Artful Balance)
* 1992 ''Treasure Chest'' (
Timeless)
* 2000 ''Duality'' with Steve Homan (Nefertiti)
* 2004 ''Time Again; Brubeck Revisited Vol. 1'' (
Sunnyside)
* 2004 ''Claude Bolling Suites 1 and 2'' for flute and jazz piano trio (Cantilena)
* 2005 ''Time Again; Brubeck Revisited Vol. 2'' (Sunnyside)
* 2006 ''View So Tender; Wonder Revisited Vol. 1'' (
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
)
* 2007 ''View So Tender; Wonder Revisited Vol. 2'' (
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
)
* 2009 ''Wise One'' with Bobby Hutcherson (Kind of Blue)
* 2010 ''Americanvas'' (
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
)
* 2012 ''Relativity'' (
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
)
Awards and honors
* 1997 Great American Jazz Piano Competition; 1st runner-up
* 1998 Great American Jazz Piano Competition; 2nd Place
* 2000 Great American Jazz Piano Competition; 3rd Place
* 2002 Great American Jazz Piano Competition; 2nd Place
* 2004 Great American Jazz Piano Competition; Grand Prize Winner
* 2005 Brubeck Scholar Award (University of the Pacific)
References
External links
Official WebsiteSunnyside RecordsCapri Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilman, Joe
1962 births
Living people
American River College faculty
Musicians from Sacramento, California
Mainstream jazz pianists
21st-century pianists
Sunnyside Records artists
Timeless Records artists