Justin Kauflin

Award-Winning Jazz Pianist Justin Kauflin Began His Musical Journey At Age 4 With Suzuki Violin Suzanne Schreck Adding Piano A Few Years Later With Virginia Koun. By Age 6 He Was Performing In Concerts Nursing Homes And Weddings Eventually Becoming Concertmaster For Several Orchestras. However It Was During This Time That He Also Endured Numerous Trials Particularly Losing Total Vision By A Rare Eye Disease. He Adjusted By Learning 5 Grades Of Braille Cane Mobility And After A Decade Of Classical Violin And Piano Switched To Jazz Piano At The Governor's School For Performing Arts. He Studied With Liz Barnes Woody Beckner Chris Brydge Jeff Smith Jae Sinnett And ODU Jazz Professor John Toomey He Attended The Vail Jazz Workshop Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead Residency And Received Top Honors In Jazz Festivals Across The U.S. He Began Performing Jazz Professionally At Age 15 Most Notably With The Jae Sinnett Trio. In 2004 Justin Graduated In The Top 1% Of Salem High School Alongside His Sighted Peers And Valedictorian At The Governor's School Receiving A Presidential Scholarship To Attend William Paterson University In New Jersey. At WPU He Was Taken Under The Wings Of Legendary Trumpeter Clark Terry And Performed In The Clark Terry Ensemble. He Also Had The Tremendous Privilege Of Learning From His Hero The Late Mulgrew Miller As Well As Harold Mabern And The Late James Williams. While Attending William Paterson He Accepted Any Opportunity To Sit In And/or Perform With His Trio In New York City. In 2008 Justin Graduated Summa Cum Laude With An Honor's Degree In Music Moved To NYC And At Age 23 Produced Led Composed And Performed On His First CD Introducing Justin Kauflin. His Personnel Included High School Buddy Billy Williams Phil Kuehn Etan Haziza And Tim Green. While In NYC He Was Hit With The Realization That "visionless Independent Mobility" Is Painstakingly Slow At Best And Life-Threatening At Worst. This Led Him To The Seeing Eye In Morristown NJ Where He Was Matched With An Amazing Black Lab Named 'Candy' His Service Dog For Three Years In NY Before Returning To Virginia. From 2011 The Justin Kauflin Trio Headlined Regularly At Havana Nights Jazz Club In Virginia Beach Where He Also Served As House Pianist. He Performed Around The Country With His Own Trio Or With The Jae Sinnett Trio Won The VSA International Young Soloist Award Was Voted "Jazz Artist Of The Year" In VEER Magazine And Selected As Semifinalist In The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition Where It Was Noted Simultaneously During This Time Justin's Relationship With Mentor Clark Terry Was Chronicled By Absolute Clay Productions' Al Hicks And Adam Hart. Five Years In The Making The Resultant Documentary Keep On Keepin' On Won Both Heineken Audience And Best New Director Awards At Tribeca Film Festival And Released In Theaters Through RADIUS-TWC. Justin And Dave Grusin Are Credited For Its Filmscore. Justin Was Also Signed By Legendary Producer And Music Icon Quincy Jones For Management And In 2013 And 2014 Was Part Of Quincy Jones' World Tours Which Traveled To Montreux Switzerland Vienne France Seoul Korea Tokyo And HIroshima Japan. Throughout The Past Year Justin Has Been Working With Quincy Jones On His Second Full-Length CD And Debut Album For Jazz Village DEDICATION. It Is Scheduled For Release On January 13 2015. read less