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Jonathan Pinson

Jonathan Pinson began his love affair with the drum set at the age of two when he was surrounded by the music of his mother’s choir. His formal music training began at the age of six with instruction on the piano. Shortly after, Jonathan transitioned to the drum set at the Colburn School of Performing Arts and studied with Billy Higgins from The World Stage.

While in high school, Jonathan performed professionally at various jazz clubs around the Los Angeles area. He also enjoyed mentoring young percussion enthusiasts and helped conduct jazz workshops for inner city youths at local public elementary schools, in high school as well as in college.

During his senior year in high school, Jonathan won three major coveted awards, 1st place in the Music Center's Spotlight Award (2007), Performer of the Year at Alexander Hamilton High School and the Jimmy Lyon's Scholarship Award for a full tuition scholarship at the Berklee College of Music. Additionally, he received the Dolo Coker Scholarship (2009, 2010).

After Jonathan received his Bachelors of Arts Degree in Music at the Berklee College of Music, he was one of seven musicians selected for the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the University of California Los Angeles, which resulted in a Masters of Music.

Shortly after being chosen, he was asked to tour with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter's band, at the age of 23. This experience identified him as a highly sought after drummer in the music industry and has allowed him to tour and perform with notable artists such as Ambrose Akinmusire, John Clayton, Dave Liebman, Ed Simon, Eric Reed, Kamasi Washington, Marquis Hill and Gilad Hekselman to name a few.

He has performed and toured at various locations including the following: Tokyo Jazz Festival, International Jazz Day in Istanbul Turkey, Panama Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Nancy France Jazz Festival, a tour of Israel with The Ronen Shmueli Quintet, Newport Jazz Festival, Martha’s Vineyard Jazz Festival, and the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Currently he is actively performing with other artists, and teaching throughout New York and Los Angeles.

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22
Album Review

Mark Turner Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard

Read "Live At The Village Vanguard" reviewed by Pat Youngspiel


Mark Turner's Live At The Village Vanguard follows a year after the saxophonist's critically acclaimed second quartet offering for the ECM label Return From The Stars (2022) and features the same group, containing live cuts of the entirety of that record. The title track “Return From The Stars," “Terminus," “Bridgetown," “Nigeria 2," “Lincoln Heights," “It's Not Alright With Me," “Wasteland" and “Unnacceptable" are taken from the album and given new guises in these vibrant live renditions. Also included are “Brother ...

8
Album Review

Henry Franklin: Jazz Is Dead 14

Read "Jazz Is Dead 14" reviewed by Chris May


Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad's Jazz Is Dead label is a moveable feast when it comes to consistency. In its fourteen albums date, there have been some great ones, some not so great ones and a couple of duds. With bassist Henry Franklin, however, the label has come up with a blinder, its most satisfying disc to date. Los Angeles-based Franklin is not well known beyond musician circles, but his track record is distinguished. He has released ...

3
Album Review

Joshua Crumbly: Rise

Read "Rise" reviewed by Geno Thackara


Joshua Crumbly and his bass have logged a good few miles learning from a respectable number of fellow players (Victor Bailey, Terence Blanchard, Kamasi Washington and more) in his fairly young career, and it shows—his debut may not be as wildly eclectic as it could have been with such a colorful history to build on, but then it's not specifically meant to be. Rise is more about portraying emotions and inner thoughts, and the variety of players and tones here ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Who Are You When No...

Nettwerk Music Group
2023

buy

AHOH

Nery Music
2023

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Live At The Village...

Giant Step Arts
2023

buy

Jazz Is Dead 14

Jazz Is Dead
2022

buy

PURPLE REFLECTION

Nery Music
2021

buy

Rise

Open Book Records
2020

buy

Indie

From: Who Are You When No One Is...
By Jonathan Pinson

Indie

From: Who Are You When No One Is...
By Jonathan Pinson

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