PIANIST JOEL A. MARTIN

At age 17, PIANIST JOEL A. MARTIN was the youngest and first African-American pianist to compete in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1985). He has appeared as soloist with the NY Philharmonic, El Paso Symphony, Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA), Philadelphia Orchestra, Cab Calloway Orchestra, New Hampshire Festival Orchestra, and the Hartford Symphony, among many others.

Trained as a classical pianist at the Hartt School of Music and SUNY, Purchase, he created “Jazzical” in 1995 as a celebration of creative fusion: “the explosive union of classical composition and jazz innovation ignited with a fresh spirit all its own.” This concept, form, and vehicle “captures the dynamic force of multiple cultures and influences, unleashing a kinetic energy that breaks down boundaries and yields whole new worlds of musical expression.”

In 2016 he created The Sonicals, a piano duo with George Lopez. And in 2017 he joined with Paul Winter Consort multiple Grammy-winning cellist Eugene Friesen to create the Friesen and Martin Cello/Piano Duo, playing music infused with pop, jazz, rock, and world folk styles.

Joel is currently collaborating, orchestrating, and touring the US with multiple Grammy-winning MET opera soprano Kathleen Battle in her production, “The Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey.” He has been with her as pianist, composer, and arranger for the last 11 years! On June 29, 2019, Joel debuted a concert reading of his first opera, HIPOPERA at the Darien Arts Center. HIPOPERA will be premiered in Dallas in late 2022 in collaboration with the Dallas Black Dance Theater, the first opera of its kind completing integrating modern dance with opera.

On March 10, 2022, Joel released his 9th CD, “Jazzical: Komitas – Passion of Fire,” paying homage to Armenia’s cultural and artistic icon, Komitas Vartabed. Since the release of “Jazzical: Komitas” worldwide, Jazzical Komitas has debuted to great acclaim in Los Angeles/Glendale CA, Little Island Concert Series in NYC, Clayton Piano Festival (Raleigh NC), Mezzo Jazz Club (Yerevan), Komitas Chamber Music Hall (Yerevan), Synergy Yerevan, and Dvin Music Hall (presented by Artak Tovmasyan and the Tovmasyan Foundation with musical collaboration with the Armenia State Symphony Orchestra (ARM). A world tour is being planned in support of this project.

BASSIST DAVID DUNAWAY

BASSIST DAVID DUNAWAY initially played classical music in addition to rock music and jazz. He was active in the San Francisco jazz scene from the early 1970s onwards; his first recordings were made in 1975 with the band Listen, which also included Mel Martin and Andy Narell. In the following years he played with Paul Nash’s Jazz Composers Ensemble and Art Van Damme, among others, before living in New York from 1979 onwards, where he participated in recordings by Fred Hersch, Ralph Simon, and Rodolfo Alchourron.

He was also a member of the band C’est What?! (with Jeff Bernan, Matt Balitsaris, and John Wunsch), with whom he released three albums. In the field of jazz, he participated in 19 recording sessions between 1975 and 2014, most recently with drummer Paul Yonemura, for whom he also composed.

Dunaway has also toured with Cleo Laine & John Dankworth and the Duke Ellington Orchestra (Ghost Band), and has performed with Chet Baker, Marty Phillips, Norman Simmons, Andrew Hill, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. He has also explored the music of other cultures, working with musicians from Brazil, Trinidad, Africa, and Turkey. In 2014, he released the album Memories of Africa under his own name; Memories of Russia followed in 2015. Dunaway teaches double bass and electric bass at his home in Westchester County, New York. Learn more.