by Mike Telin
Describing pianist Jackie Warren, critic Carlo Wolff wrote, “To hear her is to fix on her, because Jackie Warren is a lover of the piano. She plays the instrument so well, it makes love back.”
On Sunday August 14 at 5:00 pm at The Madison, Piano Days @CLE will feature Warren in a Dueling Piano Gala as she faces off with GRAMMY Award-nominated pianist and contemporary jazz master Benito Gonzalez. Purchase tickets here.
I caught up with Cleveland’s First Lady of Jazz by telephone and began our conversation by asking her how she met Gonzalez. [Read more…]
Two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated pianist and contemporary jazz master Benito Gonzalez combines a long lineage of American jazz traditions with rhythms from around the world. His sound is recognizable for the powerful rhythm section and Afro-Latin patterns he prioritizes across his projects, working with luminaries from across the spectrum of jazz.
“For me, coming back to Cleveland is like coming home,” conductor Giancarlo Guerrero said during a Zoom conversation from Nashville where he has served as music director of the Nashville Symphony since 2009. “The Cleveland Orchestra was my family for almost ten years and this concert is the project this year that I am looking forward to the most because of my history with this orchestra — I am beyond excited to see everyone.”
Winner of the Sphinx Medal of Excellence and Professor at the Curtis Institute of Music, pianist Michelle Cann returns to Cleveland on Thursday, August 11 for a 7:30 pm performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall. Presented as part of PianoDays @CLE, her program features works by Chopin, Brahms, Clara Schumann, Florence Price, and Margaret Bonds. Purchase tickets 
Local audiences may remember Stanislav Khristenko from his electrifying performances at the 2013 Cleveland International Piano Competition, where his performance of the Brahms Concerto No. 1 with The Cleveland Orchestra helped him to take home the grand prize. This summer, competition organizer Piano Cleveland has invited him back to perform as part of the inaugural PianoDays @CLE.
In the last few years of touring his brand of Afro-Cuban funk fusion, Cimafunk has been all over the world and yet, he looks forward to visiting Cleveland for the first time this month. While he’s on his visit, Cimafunk and his live band will perform at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s upcoming City Stages event.
What led 
Mikey Silas, of Apostle Jones fame, is proud of what he and his band have been able to accomplish in such a short period of time. Formed in late 2018, Apostle Jones has been on an impressive run in the Cleveland music scene like no other. Over the last four years, they have managed to release a studio EP as well as four live performance compilations.
Since 2010 the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition has brought talented young violinists and pianists to the campus of Oberlin College and Conservatory every summer.