Adam Birnbaum is a rising star in jazz piano. He received a graduate Artist’s Diploma from The Julliard School, in jazz studies, in 2003. Since then, he has been a prominent presence on the New York City stage as a leader, sideman, and performs at venues such as the Village Vanguard and Birdland. He has performed on numerous national and international stages including the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and Kennedy Center, The Spoleto Festival in Montreal, The Spoleto Festival in Indianapolis, The Rockport Chamber Festival and NPR Jazz Christmas. Birnbaum, a leader, has released two albums under the Pony Canyon record. Ballade Pour Adeline was his first album. It received a Gold Disk award by Swing Journal and was voted one of the best albums of 2006. His debut album, Travels in the U.S., was released under the Smalls label in 2009. It received rave reviews in JazzTimes, All About Jazz, and JazzTimes. Both Brad Mehldau, Herbie Hancock have had the Adam Birnbaum Trio open for them. Birnbaum’s quintet spent three week in Spoleto, Italy, at Festival Dei Due Mondi, July 2006. Birnbaum’s most recent recording as a leader will be released in 2014, featuring Al Foster and Doug Weiss, the bassist. Birnbaum’s versatility and artistry make him an ideal sideman for many soloists, bands, and band leaders. Al Foster, Wallace Roney and Eddie Henderson are some of his jazz icons. He also has performed and toured with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Maralis. Birnbaum has been a sideman on more than 15 albums. Birnbaum is also a composer/arranger. Ken Dryden, an Allmusic.com reviewer said that Birnbaum’s compositions are instantly infectious and each has a hook that pulls the listener along for a ride. A review of Travels in JazzTimes highlighted the album’s “stellar origins.” Birnbaum released Dream Songs in 2009, a trio based on John Berryman’s poetry. Chamber Music America commissioned the work. Birnbaum was an artist as a guest at the Chelsea Music Festival, New York in 2012. He arranged Debussy and Japanese folk songs to his trio, strings and koto and operatic singers. Birnbaum was born in Boston, Massachusetts and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. He then moved to New York City in 2001 as one of only two pianists to be accepted into the Julliard School’s jazz studies program. He was awarded the American Jazz Piano Competition in 2004 and named the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter fellow for Jazz. He was also the first jazz pianist ever to give a recital at Gilmore Rising Stars Recital Series. He was awarded the Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition’s “special mention” prize in Paris in 2006. He has been sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center as well as the U.S. State Department to tour West Africa and Asia. He is a Manhattan resident and performs around the globe with Greg Osby and Al Foster as featured members of their ensembles. Adam studied with Kenny Barron and Danilo Perez. From www.adambirnbaum.com
