(Reprinted from the June 2023 issue of New York City Jazz Record)
Photo: Cover image from The Power Of The Spirit (Blue Engine Records)
On the second evening of this year’s American Pianists Association (APA) jazz competition in Indianapolis, contender Isaiah J. Thompson announced his final piece from the stage—it wasn’t listed in the program.
“I’ll play one more, if that’s alright,” the 25-year-old said, as he introduced “Thank You, Betsy”, from his latest album, The Power of the Spirit (Blue Engine Records). Betsy, he explained, was the black Volvo that had gotten him to and from rehearsals, school and gigs during his formative years as a young musician. The audience laughed, and Thompson settled into the skittering riff that opened the ever-so-gently swinging original.
Expressions of gratitude were frequent among the five pianists competing for the APA’s Cole Porter Jazz Fellowship April 20-22 this year—besides Thompson, Caelan Cardello, Esteban Castro, Paul Cornish and Thomas Linger. Not surprisingly, given the near-Olympian effort it takes to launch a world-class jazz career, the finalists had many people to thank. By the time these young players had reached the APA’s finalists circle, they had spent most of their lives training in private study and specialized after-school music programs, at choice universities or conservatories, and under the tutelage of jazz celebrity mentors. An achievement like the Cole Porter Fellowship would give their music careers an additional boost: a substantial cash prize, a one-album deal with Mack Avenue Records, professional marketing and promotion, and a two-year artist’s residency at the University of Indianapolis. According to the APA, the Fellowship is worth upwards of $200,000 all told.
The evening after Thompson played “Thank You, Betsy”, the judges awarded him the Fellowship. With this triumph, he joins previous winners Sullivan Fortner, Emmet Cohen, Aaron Diehl, Adam Birnbaum and Dan Tepfer—all of whom went on to establish important careers.
Whatever rigorous path brought this year’s finalists to Indianapolis, however, the vetting process for the Fellowship is equally as demanding: It takes more than a year and involves the careful navigation of a series of challenges. First, interested pianists must receive a nomination from an established performing artist, educator or industry professional. Those who make the cut must then successfully compete in two rounds of juried auditions, one recorded and one live. The five finalists also must complete a teaching residency at an area school and concertize at a local hospital. From here, they move on to Discovery Week—a “variety of events [that] replicates nearly every kind of performance situation a professional pianist will encounter”, according to the program. Among these are a non-adjudicated solo performance for the community and four adjudicated sets—two as part of a trio, one accompanying star vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and another soloing with the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra.
Divided across two evenings, these four sets fell under the purview of a preeminent panel of judges: pianists Fortner, Cyrus Chestnut and Bill Cunliffe; Jazz Gallery Artistic Director Rio Sakairi; and A&R Senior Director of Mack Avenue Records Will Wakefield. No less impressive, celebrated soprano Sylvia McNair and master pianist Bill Charlap emceed these two evenings, live-streamed via the APA website.
Thompson, a Juilliard graduate and recipient of the 2018 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, approached the trio performances by leaning into the blues. He displayed a deep understanding of the style on his own “Citizen of the Blues” in the first trio set and Johnny Hodges’ “Funky Blues” in the second, before charging through an ebullient rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train”. His seeming preternatural maturity as a player on these standard forms doubtless factored heavily into the judges’ decision to award him top honors.
But Thompson was not without strong rivals in the contest. William Paterson graduate Cardello, who bears the distinction of being the final student of Harold Mabern (1936- 2019), distinguished himself through his grasp of contrasting styles, first with his solo take of Jimmy McHugh’s ballad “Don’t Blame Me” followed immediately by a skilled bop rendition of Kenny Barron’s “New York Attitude”. And Castro, a current Juilliard student and winner of three ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards, excelled with two superb originals, the beautifully filigreed “Indigo Flurries” and the jazz meditation “Love Song”.
To the extent that the trio performances showcased the players’ improvisatory and compositional skills, the duo and big band sets tested their abilities as collaborators. Cornish, who received a full scholarship to UCLA’s Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, turned out one of the competition’s most enthralling performances on Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”, so responsive and unpredictable was his rapport with Salvant. And UNC grad Linger, winner of the American Jazz Pianist Competition in 2017 (a year before Cornish in 2018 and five years before Castro in 2022), showed an unruffled dexterity in finessing the variable tempos, shifting keys and crisp grooves in “Monk Medley”, a tight, big-band arrangement of select compositions by the bebop master.
After the big band set on the final evening, the judges repaired to select the winner. As the audience waited, perhaps they recalled Charlap’s earlier words summing up the difficulties of choosing the recipient of this year’s award.
“Everybody here is a winner. It sounds corny to say, but it isn’t,” he said. “Think about it—a competition that had in it Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk. Who wins? Of course, they all win. They all win for being themselves. And that’s what these marvelous musicians have—they all have a point of view, something to say about the music. They will continue to develop into greater and greater artists—and have not just a hit record, but a hit career. And that’s where it’s at.”