Primary Instrument: Piano
PIANIST, EDUCATOR, ARRANGER, PRODUCER
—————————————————————————————————- Leader of Gerard Hagen Trio
Pianist GERARD HAGEN lives in Paris France with his wife, vocalist Leslie Lewis. In 1995 while living in California he formed his trio with bassist DOMENIC GENOVA and JERRY KALAF drums. Their recordings have received international radio airplay, critical acclaim and have been distributed in the U.S. as well as Japan and Europe. Gerard has performed extensively including venues in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Minneapolis, New York, Paris and London.
RECORDINGS - Producer/Arranger/Pianist
Gerard is active as an arranger, producer as well as musical director for vocalist Leslie Lewis. Her debut recording “Of Two Minds” was released on the SSL label in Japan and received 5 stars in “Swing Journal” magazine. “Keeper Of The Flame” was featured on SiriusXM Radio as well as several nationally syndicated radio shows.
Gerard Hagen Trio “Far Horizons” (Resurgent Music) 1998 Gerard Hagen Trio “Stay Tuned” (Sea Breeze Jazz) 2000 Saddleback College Jazz Faculty Recording 2006 Leslie Lewis’ “Of Two Minds” (Surf Cove Jazz) 2008 Leslie Lewis’ “Keeper Of The Flame” (Surf Cove Jazz) 2010 Leslie Lewis’ “Midnight Sun” (Surf Cove Jazz) 2011 Dan Jacobs Quartet “Play Song” (Metro Jazz Records) 2011 SSJ All-Stars “From California With Love” (SSJ-USA) 2011 Gerard Hagen Trio “Song For Leslie” (Surf Cove Jazz) 2012
PERFORMANCE VENUES-(partial list) include: Royal College of Music, London, UK (w Musique Sur La Mer) Lehman College Jazz Festival, New York, NY Hôtel de Crillon, Paris, FR Autour de Midi, Paris FR Jazz Club Etoile, Paris FR La Closerie des Lilas, Paris FR Los Angeles County Museum of Art Jazz Series, Los Angeles, CA Jazz at Pearl’s, San Francisco, CA The Culver's Club For Jazz, Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill, Hollywood, CA Vitello's Jazz and Supper Club, Studio City, CA Spaghettini Grill and Jazz Club, Seal Beach, CA Disneyland, Anaheim, CA Steamer's Jazz Club, Fullerton, CA Dana Point Jazz Festival Dana Point, CA The Artists Quarter, Minneapolis/St.Paul MN Cerritos Center For Perforrming Arts, Cerritos CA (w Jazz Tap Ensemble) California Music Teacher’s Convention, San Diego CA Terrace Theater Long Beach CA Mukenthaller Art Center, Fullerton CA Long Beach Museum of Art CA Walter Annenberg Estate, Rancho Mirage CA Queen Mary Long Beach CA Riverside Community College, Riverside CA Clairmont College, Clairmont CA La Costa Resort, La Costa CA Bowers Museum, Santa Ana CA Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles CA Santa Ana Performing Arts Center, Santa Ana CA “Jazz At The Center” Concert Series, Santa Fe, NM “Geniuses Of Jazz” Concert Series, Albuquerque, NM
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR of JAZZ PIANO Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA.
Gerard was an Associate Professor of Jazz Piano at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA from 2004 to 2012. His teaching duties included jazz piano classes, private instruction, evaluation of jazz combos, and evaluation of applied jazz students. In addition he performed in concert with the Jazz Faculty Combo and served as a faculty member for the Saddleback College Summer Jazz Program. His educational background includes a Bachelor Of Arts degree in piano performance from the University of Mary and a Masters of Music Ed. degree from Northern Michigan University.
His performances and recordings have received critical praise in the Los Angeles Times, Jazz Times Magazine, Los Angeles Jazz Scene, Jazz Improv Magazine, Cadence Magazine, Cashbox, All About Jazz, All Music Guide, etc. Recordings have been featured on Bob Parlocha's and Jim Wilkie's Syndicated Jazz Radio Shows as well SiriusXM radio.
“... Gerard Hagen is a well known giant on the west coast ... A trio that can swing, like this is always a good bet for a great musical evening, ... It's groups like this that keep jazz alive.” —Larry Routt WOBO Radio Cincinnati
“An excellent modern mainstream pianist, Hagen, who is influenced by Bill Evans and Tommy Flanagan but mostly sounds like himself, ... although Hagen has impressive technique, he uses it to serve the music” -~Scott Yanow, ALL MUSIC GUIDE
“Gerard Hagen has produced a polished, lyrical sound in the Bill Evans tradition.” —George Fendel, JAZZSCENE
“The excellence of Hagen's work on “Stay Tuned” is of such a high level that one would have expected him to be better known beyond the West Coast.” —Bill Donaldson, JAZZ IMPROV
“Hagen has a special way with the piano that sets him apart from today's young lions. He is gently respectful of melody, avoiding pianistic gymnastics and chord bashing.” —Dave Nathan, ALL MUSIC GUIDE
Hagen, soloed deftly, his lines moving gracefully in and out of the composition's subtle corners. — Zan Stewart, LOS ANGELES TIMES
