Julian Waterfall Pollack
| Julian Waterfall Pollack | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 June 1988 |
| Genres | Jazz, Classical, Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, composer, producer |
| Years active | 2004 — present |
| Website | julianpollack.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Piano, Composition, Talkbox | |
Julian Waterfall Pollack (born June 28, 1988) is an American pianist, composer, songwriter and producer associated with jazz, classical, and pop music.[1][2]
Contents
Biography
Early life
Raised in Berkeley, California, Pollack was introduced to music through his parents, Susan Waterfall (an accomplished concert pianist), and Allan Pollack (a conductor, saxophonist and professor of music at UC Berkeley).[3][4] He began formal study of the piano at age of five with his mother, and was called a child prodigy, able to play difficult pieces of classical music well beyond his years. He attended The Crowden School in Berkeley, California, for his middle school years, where he received training in orchestral playing, chamber music, harmony, and counterpoint, as well as a courses in the liberal arts.[1]
He later attended Berkeley High School where he developed his love for jazz, playing as principal pianist for four years in their award-winning jazz ensemble. He released his debut jazz trio album, Goin' For It, to much critical acclaim in the San Francisco Bay Area and achieved national recognition by being featured on Jazziz Magazine's monthly CD.[5]
After completing high schooling in 2006, he was offered a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music, but opted to instead attend New York University in New York City.[1]
2006 - Present
In 2007, he appeared as a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio show aired on NPR.[6]
He released his second trio album, Infinite Playground, to great critical acclaim in 2010. The album featured bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Evan Hughes.[7] Notably, the album showcased Pollack's growing interest in blending multiple genres with jazz improvisation and classical composition. The record included Pollack's original pieces alongside jazz standards (Rogers & Hart's "My Funny Valentine" and Ray Noble's "Cherokee") and Lennon & McCartney's "And I Love Her".[7] He continued this trajectory with the trio's 2013 release, Waves of Albion, which included a polyrhythmic arrangement of Death Cab for Cutie's "What Sarah Said", Bon Iver's "Flume", as well as the American folk song Oh Shenandoah.[8]
Pollack composed a three movement piano concerto in 2012. It was premiered by the Camellia Symphony in Sacramento, CA. The work's style and form drew heavily upon jazz, minimalism, and French impressionism.[3]
In 2013, Pollack composed "Brooklyn Boomerang," a piece for two pianos which premiered at the Greenwich House in Manhattan in November by Pollack and acclaimed pianist Natalie Tenenbaum.[9] He also completed a string quartet, commissioned by the Telluride Chamber Music Festival and the Ives String Quartet, during this period.[10][11]
Pollack premiered a new composition for orchestra, entitled "Night Flower," at the 2014 Mendocino Music Festival.[12]
His website is reporting that he will be recording and releasing a "talkbox" project in the near future.[13]
Collaborations
In 2006, Pollack met nationally-acclaimed singer-songwriter Grace Weber[14] while living on the same dormitory floor during their freshman year at NYU.[15][16] They formed the band Grace & Julian and recorded their eponymously-titled debut shortly after. The duo added additional musicians and evolved into the Grace Weber Band, as Pollack relinquished his role as a co-leader prior to the release of their four-song EP, Sparrows.[17] Pollack has continued to serve as a co-writer for many of Weber's songs, including all twelve songs featured on Weber's 2011 album Hope & Heart, which debuted number 8 on iTunes in the Singer-Songwriter category.[18]
Pollack has also collaborated with Broadway-star Carrie Manolakos on her independent solo singer-songwriter project. In April 2012, they performed at the (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City for Manolakos' CD Release concert. The concert concluded with a performance of Radiohead's "Creep" which Pollack arranged for the occasion. A video recording of the performance became a viral sensation on YouTube and has since received over 2 million views.[19] [20]
Recognition
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"Julian Waterfall Pollack, a young pianist who deftly balances virtuosity with tenderness..."[21]
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"Pollack is not a minimalist composer as the term is usually meant. He might be called post-minimalist, in that he’s incorporated minimalist tools into his musical vocabulary, as John Adams and others have. His music is not as abstract or cerebral as that comparison might suggest."[11]
— David Bratman, San Francisco Classical Voice
Discography
As leader
| Title | Year | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waves of Albion | 2013 | Berthold[8][22] | ||
| Infinite Playground | 2010 | Junebeat[7][23] | ||
| 94 & 95 | 2008 | Junebeat[16] | ||
| Solitude | 2007 | Junebeat | ||
| Grace & Julian | 2007 | Junebeat | ||
| Goin’ For It | 2006 | Jazzschool[5] | ||
| Alive Again | 2004 | Independent Release |
As sideman
| Album artist | Title | Year | Label | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Schwebs | In-Between Seasons & Places | 2012 | Berthold[24] | ||||
| Grace Weber | Hope & Heart | 2011 | Junebeat[18] | ||||
| Chase Baird | Crosscurrent | 2010 | Junebeat[25] | ||||
| Peter Schwebs | Stories From Sugar Hill | 2010 | Laika Records[26] |
References
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