Jahari Stampley is a Chicago-born

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and bandleader. In 2023, at age 24, Stampley won the Herbie Hancock Institute International Piano Competition, one of the most prestigious awards in jazz. He has been featured in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Jazzwise ''Jazzwise'' is a British monthly magazine focused on jazz, launched in 1997. The magazine covers a range of jazz sub-genres and provides news coverage, a national gig guide, a jazz-on-film page, feature articles, and a review section that evalua ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, and

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

, and is widely considered as one of the leading emerging talents in contemporary jazz and

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

. Stampley is endorsed by

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

and

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

Early life

Jahari Stampley was born and raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in a family of musicians. His mother, D-Erania Stampley is a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominated multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and songwriter. Stampley started out on drums but later switched to the piano at age 14, teaching himself to play by ear. In 2017 he was a member of CYSO Jazz Orchestra's season. Two years later he won the

Bösendorfer Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces Imperial Bösendorfer, 97- and 92-Key (instrument) ...

prize in the international American Jazz Pianists Association Competition (for ages 18–25). Stampley graduated from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

in 2021. In 2023 he was named ''Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz'' and became the first non-classical musician to receive the Chicago Youth Symphony Alumni Award.

Career

He became widely known among jazz fans in 2023, when he won the

Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The i ...

International Piano Competition. That year he also released his debut album ''Still Listening'', which rose to #1 on Apple iTunes Jazz charts within the first weeks of its release. By the age of 18, he was recognized and followed by many world-renowned musicians including Jill Scott,

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 5, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and Arrangement, musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from ...

Cory Henry Cory Alexander Henry (born February 27, 1987) is an American jazz organist, pianist, gospel musician, and producer. A former member of Snarky Puppy, Henry launched his solo artist career in 2018 with ''Art of Love'', his first independent re ...

, and

Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmo ...

, among others. He later toured with

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

and is featured on

Derrick Hodge Derrick Hodge (born July 5, 1979) is an American composer, musical director, bandleader, producer bassist and advocate. To date he has been awarded two Grammys, named a Sundance Composer Fellow, received a Motif Award; one of world's highest h ...

’s ''Color of Noise'' album. In 2023, Jahari was selected to perform in the UNESCO

International Jazz Day International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." It is celebrated ...

at the Palace of Arts and Culture in Tangier, Morocco, alongside jazz legends including

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sa ...

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

Melody Gardot Melody Gardot (; born February 2, 1985) is an American jazz singer. At the age of 19, Gardot was hit by an SUV and sustained a head injury. Music played a critical role in her recovery. She became an advocate of music therapy, visiting hospita ...

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's r ...

, and others. In an interview with

remarked, "''I haven’t seen anybody with technique like that, ever. I thought I was looking at

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

’s second coming, in a more modern form. He is just an amazing talent.''” In 2024, Stampley played piano and keyboards on

Keyon Harrold Keyon Karim Harrold (born November 18, 1980) is an American jazz trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Early life and family Keyon Harrold was born and raised in Ferguson, Missouri, United States, one of 16 children in a family of music ...

's ''Foreverland'', which was nominated for best alternative jazz album in the 67th Grammy awards. Since launching his own family trio, Stampley has toured around the world with Miguel Russell, a 21-year-old drummer/producer from

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

, and his mother D-Erania Stampley, playing in iconic venues such as

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

in NYC,

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, the Met Philadelphia, SFJazz Center, and other prestigious clubs in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, China, and Japan, including

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

and

Blue Note Jazz Club The Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club's performance schedule features shows every evening at 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm and a Sunday jazz brunch. The club h ...

Awards and achievements

* ASCAP Herb Albert Composers Award (2025) *Luminarts Writers Award for ''What A Time'' Album (2025) *Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz (2023) * Honoree of Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2023) * Winner of Herbie Hancock Institute International Jazz Piano Competition (2023) * Winner of Bösendorferprize in the international American Jazz Pianists Association Competition (2019)

Discography

Albums

* ''Still Listening'' (2023) * ''What A Time'' (2025)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stampley, Jahari American male jazz pianists 21st-century American male musicians American jazz songwriters Manhattan School of Music alumni Musicians from Chicago Year of birth missing (living people) Living people