Jean-Michel Pilc

"His densely harmonic reinventions of standards you thought you knew clearly shows a musical genius at work." Eric Brace, The Washington Post "There may be no more diverse, unpredictable jazz piano player, song to song, than Jean-Michel Pilc." Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes "A dazzlingly inventive pianist." Nate Chinen, The New York Times "Jean-Michel Pilc belongs right in the front row." John Fordham, Guardian Unlimited (UK, **** review) “One of the astounding jazz piano trios of the past decade.” Don Williamson, Jazz Review "Mr Pilc seems to have dropped from the sky fully formed, with technique and his ideas in place

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"His densely harmonic reinventions of standards you thought you knew clearly shows a musical genius at work." Eric Brace, The Washington Post "There may be no more diverse, unpredictable jazz piano player, song to song, than Jean-Michel Pilc." Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes "A dazzlingly inventive pianist." Nate Chinen, The New York Times "Jean-Michel Pilc belongs right in the front row." John Fordham, Guardian Unlimited (UK, **** review) “One of the astounding jazz piano trios of the past decade.” Don Williamson, Jazz Review "Mr Pilc seems to have dropped from the sky fully formed, with technique and his ideas in place. He is a physical and densely harmonic player, a splashy stunner who also has a Rubik's-cube mind for chord substitutions." Ben Ratliff, New York Times "...visual art references come to mind: Cubist renderings of melody in which the original is reshaped into a completely different visual perspective; the shimmering opaqueness of Impressionism in some of Pilc's lush harmonies..." Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times "Follow Me" stands a major summation of Pilc's keyboard art, which has no counterparts. Pilc ranks among today's titans of the instrument... there's more to his art than the speed, precision and power of his 10 phenomenal fingers." Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune(2004 10 best jazz CDs) "I am absolutely stunned by the work of pianist Jean-Michel Pilc... The rhythm section sizzles under (his) leadership." Bob Dorough, vocalist. "...make no mistake about it, to his credit, Mr. Pilc is very unique... I would say that this trio starts at Mars, and then goes from there. Don't expect anything resembling conventional interpretations. This is fascinating and rewarding music..." Rick Helzer, Jazz Improv "The big discovery in the acoustic field was Jean-Michel Pilc. His sound is majestic, his statements urging http://otcpills.net..50/(link is external). Supported by an equally strong rhythm section it didn't take him much effort to get Carel-Willinck Hall steaming..." NRC Handelsblad, reporting on a North Sea Jazz Festival appearance. "While never dry or abstract, Pilc is a model for playing a little to say a lot." Mark Keresman, Jazziz "should be studied in every music school in the galaxy..." Harvey Siders, Jazz Times +Top 50 Picks for Critics Picks 2003 "...ridiculously well-balanced, and trading in the kind of grace that still has the power to shake a room. Keith Jarrett found something similar... Pilc's nudging it a bit further down the line." Down Beat, four Star Hot Box review

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Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

Montreal

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Jean-Michel has also built a strong international reputation as a very unique educator. Between 2006 and 2015, he was a NYU Steinhardt faculty member, giving private lessons (piano and other instruments), ensemble classes and improvisation workshops. He was Co-Director of NYU Summer Jazz Improv Workshop in 2010. Jean-Michel also taught for the New School in NYC, as well as privately. At the same time, he released a book, It's About Music - The Art and Heart of Improvisation (Glen Lyon) and an educational video for all instruments, True Jazz Improvisation (JazzHeaven), followed by another video for JazzHeaven, Transcending the Instrument, about piano playing and practicing. All have been praised by his colleagues, and highly influential in the field of jazz education. Since September 2015, Jean-Michel is an Associate Professor at The Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal. There, he is teaching jazz, piano, and improvisation (all instruments), and also a Seminar on improvisation in all styles to 30 McGill jazz and classical students. He has acted as Jazz Area Chair between 2016 and 2018. Jean-Michel also keeps releasing pedagogical material, including 2 video masterclasses on Improvisational Fluency for MyMusicMasterclass.com, as well as a masterclass in French, Anatomie d'un standard, for iMusic School.

Clinic/Workshop Information

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Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

Montreal

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Jean-Michel has also built a strong international reputation as a very unique educator. Between 2006 and 2015, he was a NYU Steinhardt faculty member, giving private lessons (piano and other instruments), ensemble classes and improvisation workshops. He was Co-Director of NYU Summer Jazz Improv Workshop in 2010. Jean-Michel also taught for the New School in NYC, as well as privately. At the same time, he released a book, It's About Music - The Art and Heart of Improvisation (Glen Lyon) and an educational video for all instruments, True Jazz Improvisation (JazzHeaven), followed by another video for JazzHeaven, Transcending the Instrument, about piano playing and practicing. All have been praised by his colleagues, and highly influential in the field of jazz education. Since September 2015, Jean-Michel is an Associate Professor at The Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal. There, he is teaching jazz, piano, and improvisation (all instruments), and also a Seminar on improvisation in all styles to 30 McGill jazz and classical students. He has acted as Jazz Area Chair between 2016 and 2018. Jean-Michel also keeps releasing pedagogical material, including 2 video masterclasses on Improvisational Fluency for MyMusicMasterclass.com, as well as a masterclass in French, Anatomie d'un standard, for iMusic School.

Clinic/Workshop Information

My name is Jean-Michel Pilc, I am a jazz pianist & composer, and Assistant Professor of Jazz & Improvisation at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I moved there in 2015, after spending 20 years in the NYC area. More biographical information can be found on my website, www.jeanmichelpilc.com. My teaching is entirely based on my own experience as a self taught artist, who was hearing, then singing and tapping, then imitating, then playing music I loved. Before being a musician, I was, first and foremost, a music lover, and I am still in love of course. You’re probably noticing the intensive use of the word 'love' here. Well, I really believe that the best engine for progress is love; love for the music, love for discovery, love for the sensations that the musical act makes you feel, love for the sensual, physical experience which you not only enjoy, but also communicate to the listener. When you are really “in the zone” while playing, you become a listener yourself, you hear and feel the music coming out of you, and you find yourself in the center of a magical energy loop. You are both music emitter and music receiver. And when you improvise, this miraculous process becomes amplified organically by the personal, natural, instantaneous, spontaneous, unique, “in the moment” creation act which needs no explanation nor analysis. A real state of grace can then be accessed. You speak music, you are music, instead of just playing it. Music, like life, becomes an experience, a discovery, and a revelation. Music is an art, it is a language. Improvisation, like life, is an experience where senses play a crucial part. Science and discipline matter only insofar as the feeling, the passion, the fire, the love and the mystery are present. My philosophy and my goal when teaching music are to make sure you build your craft the right way, from good, strong fundamentals, and that, thanks to simple but original rhythmic, melodic, physical, vocal exercises, your instrument becomes your voice, not just a tool which stands in the way of your creativity. You will discover improvisation in the same way you discover life, and my exercices are based on simple but striking analogies between the two: breathing, walking, jumping, appreciating distances, driving, meeting people, having conversations... Fluency, fun and authenticity are the key words here. I want you to be a musician, first and foremost, not a theoretician or a trained expert. I want you to experience emotions, feeling, swing, groove, beauty, and, last but not least, pleasure. I want to convey to you the fire and the passion without which music is just a word. If my fire and passion can feed yours, then I will consider myself successful here! So… let’s get started. Rhythm will come first, and as you’ll see, there are already quite a lot of things we can do here. I will help you become a self taught musician, with autonomy, curiosity, passion, and... love. I will help you live improvisation to the fullest. I look forward to working with you.

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