Lynne Arriale

Lynne Arriale is an American pianist, composer and bandleader who has been critically praised by the New York Times: “Lynne Arriale’s brilliant musicianship and bandstand instincts place her among the top jazz pianists of the day,” and The Times: “Arriale is putting the heart back into jazz.”

“The consummate storyteller, Arriale achieves a special, deep connection with her audience, and the energy flows both ways. Arriale’s emotional authenticity allows the audience to feel and think along with her.“ (Jazz Times). “With a style that is vibrant and hard driving, yet lyrical and intimate, Arriale provides an exhilarating musical experience that not only bring accolades from critics but helps create new audiences of listeners previously unfamiliar with jazz. Arriale’s music is accessible and intimate, emanating a complexity created not by multiple layers of notes, but by multiple layers of emotion, capturing the imaginations of music lovers worldwide. There may be no jazz artist working today who brings a broader spectrum of musical ideas to the connection of mind and heart” (Jazz Police).

Arriale’s performances and recordings with her trio led to comparisons with the great trios of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, yet she has been consistently praised as having a “singular voice” as a pianist, leader, composer, and arranger. “I really can’t compare her to anyone,” said recent collaborator and multi-Grammy winner Randy Brecker. “Her music transcends the word ‘jazz’ – it is just pure music.”

First place winner of The Great American Jazz Piano Competition, Arriale has performed internationally at major festivals including the Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, The Gilmore Piano Festival, JVC, Rouen, Cannes MIDEM, Spoleto Arts, Montreux, Montreal, Monterey, North Sea, Burghausen, Stuttgart, Sardinia, Pori, San Francisco, Ottawa, Rochester, Wigan, Poznan, Portugal’s Estoril, Zagreb, Norway’s Silda, Palermo, Santa Fe, Inverness, Cork and Australia’s Perth and Brisbane Jazz Festivals. She has performed at Jazz At Lincoln Center and recently in Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa with full symphony orchestra, performing arrangements of her originals.

Arriale has toured throughout Brazil, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Croatia, France, Belgium, The Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Australia, Japan, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada and the US. She has performed and collaborated with jazz luminaries Randy Brecker, George Mraz, Benny Golson, Rufus Reid, Marian McPartland, Roy Hargrove, Eddie Henderson, Buster Williams and Al Foster.

Arriale’s highly acclaimed 13 CDs as a leader have topped the national jazz radio charts, Billboard and numerous “Best Of” lists, including The New Yorker, United Press International, 3 time SESAC National Performance Activity Award; 3 time German Record Critics Award, Jazz Week Radio: CDs “Arise” and “Inspiration” reaching #1, “Convergence” #4, “Come Together” #3, one of JazzTimes’ “Top 50 CDs of 2011”, Jazz Police's 2011 Essential CDs; “Jazz Notes” Ten Best New Jazz Releases of 2011, “Nuance” CD/DVD “CD of the month” three German audio magazines (“Audio”, “Stereo” and “Fono Forum” )"LIVE" CD/DVD, UPI’s Best Jazz CDs and New Yorker Magazine’s Best CD.

Lynne has been featured on the PBS Profile of a Recording Artist and on multiple NPR programs, including Weekend Edition, Jazz Set, (with Dee Dee Bridgewater and Branford Marsalis), Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland; and in Billboard, Downbeat, JazzTimes, (May 2011 feature), JAZZIZ, BBC Magazine, and the London Times; and has been featured in cover stories for JazzEd, One Way and M Magazines. Her live media appearances include CNN/FN’ Biz, NPR’s Jazz Piano Christmas – Live from The Kennedy Center, and radio/TV interviews throughout the U.S., U.K., and Europe, including the BBC, Radio France and German National Television.

Arriale is also an active educator and adjudicator, she is a member and piano pedagogy representative for The Jazz Education Network, has adjudicated the Montreux Jazz Competition, American Pianists Association Fellowship Awards, The Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Competition, and the Jacksonville Piano Competition. She was a featured mentor with Toshiko Akiyoshi at The Mary Lou Williams Emerging Artist Workshop at the Kennedy Center.

She has served as a faculty member of the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, the Centrum Port Townsend Jazz Workshop, the Thelonious Monk Institute and has conducted master classes and clinics internationally throughout the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Brazil and South Africa. Arriale’s quartet, featuring jazz legend, multi Grammy winner, Randy Brecker, presented a headline performance at the 2011 Jazz Education Network Convention. Lynne is currently Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Director of Small Ensembles at The University of North Florida in Jacksonville and is a Yamaha Artist.

Awards/Recognition

SESAC’s National Performance Activity Award; awarded for “Nuance” and “Arise.”

Solo was named one of the top CDs of 2012 by JAZZIZ Magazine

Convergence

#4 on National Jazz Week Radio Chart

Top 50 CDs of 2011- JazzTimes

In journalist Ken Frankling’s “Jazz Notes” Ten Best New Jazz Releases of 2011

Arriale's ‘Dance of the Rain’ also made Frankling's 10 Best New Songs of 2011 list

One of Jazz Police's Essential CDs of 2011

Winner of the SESAC 2012 National Performance Activity Award

Media Appearances