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Oliver Von Essen

Pianist and organist Oliver von Essen lives in Bay Shore, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. He has been active in the New York area Jazz scene and music business for the last 15 years. Oliver has achieved notoriety as a soloist and accompanist working in a wide range of situations from jazz club performances at Greenwich Village’s "Sweet Rhythm" and Harlem’s "Saint Nick’s Pub" to solo piano work, recording projects, clubs on Long Island’s East end and out of town concerts with national and international acts.

Oliver was born in Frankfurt, Germany, where his father is a jazz musician. Oliver received musical training from age five and started his first regular "gig" at age twelve when he worked a season performing music in an original musical play at Frankfurt’s "Theater am Zoo". The greatest leap forward in his journey happened at age 16 when he went to New Orleans, Louisiana to study jazz piano with Ellis Marsalis at the "New Orleans Center for creative arts". This most defining experience culminated in his first Jazz festival appearance with the "Nocca Jazz Ensemble" at the 1981 Jazz and Heritage Festival. He returned to Germany to finish High School while working nights in clubs.

After four years of conservatory study in Arnhem, Netherlands , his love of music and his desire to study with other jazz greats led him to New York in 1989 where he later graduated from the "New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program" having studied with jazz legends such as Kenny Baron, Kenny Werner and Jackie Byard. Oliver began playing regularly in Harlem. This vibrant music scene with its unbroken and living tradition in jazz and its heavy emphasis on Hammond organ sounds provided Oliver with his next most important growing experience, musical employment and home. He lead a regular jam session at Harlem’s "La Famille" jazz club from witch he expanded his base of performance venues throughout New York City including the famous Blue Note. His three years as house pianist for the Blue Note’s after hours session provided him the opportunity to share the stage with many of today’s most prominent jazz legends, including George Benson, Tony Bennet and Chaka Khan. The cultural diversity of New York City gave him countless opportunities to perform with musicians of different genres such as Afro-Cuban music, salsa and Latin jazz, Brazilian bossa nova, pop, reggae, calypso, blues and contemporary r&b.

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Album Review

Oliver Von Essen: Shanghai Reflections

Read "Shanghai Reflections" reviewed by John Barron


German-born pianist Oliver Von Essen approaches the piano trio format from a contemporary perspective, with affection to past innovations. Inspired by his time spent in China, Shanghai Reflections draws from Von Essen's years of sideman experience on the New York scene, as both a pianist and organist, to create a high-spirited collection of original, straight-ahead jazz with the help of bassist Donald Jackson and drummer Ronnie Williams.

The disc's eight tracks, all composed by Von Essen, are well-constructed vehicles for ...

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