Joel Garten (born 1981) is a pianist and improviser known for his innovative improvisations. His music is influenced by classical music and jazz, but mostly by modern composers such as

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, a development associated with the experimental New York School o ...

, jazz improviser

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...

and modern artists such as

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

and

Clyfford Still Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904 – June 23, 1980) was an American Painting, painter, and one of the leading figures in the first generation of Abstract Expressionists, who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in the years immediat ...

. Most of his piano works are entirely

improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

al and reflect a remarkably personal connection to his music. His work is noted by critics as being deeply reflective and heartfelt. There are those who also draw comparisons to the music of

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

. Joel Garten has created a number of innovative works for

prepared piano A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sounds temporarily altered by placing bolts, screws, mutes, rubber erasers, and/or other objects on or between the strings. Its invention is usually traced to John Cage's dance music for ''Works for pr ...

using paint brushes and other hardware on the strings of the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

. He studied experimental music under the tutelage of Toronto composer Martin Arnold. Garten's music was first produced by

Jaymz Bee Jaymz Bee (born April 13, 1963) is a Canadian musician, writer, emcee and radio personality based in Toronto, Ontario. Early life Jaymz was raised in North Bay, Ontario. He was a founder of the Al Waxman Fan Club at Inglenook Community High Scho ...

, a popular music producer and radio personality on JAZZ.FM91. He has performed in a number of cities in North America, as well as in the

Registan The Registan () was the heart of the city of Samarkand of the Timurid Empire, now in Uzbekistan. The name ''Rēgistan'' () means "sandy place" or "desert" in Persian. The Registan was a public square, where people gathered to hear royal procla ...

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. He was also invited by rock musician

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

to perform at his studio The Warehouse, where Garten performed an hour-long concert of his solo piano improvisations in 1999. Garten was also commissioned to write a work for Toronto's 200th birthday which he performed at Toronto's Casa Loma. Garten was a curator in 2006 at an exhibit in the Echigo Tsumari Triennial in Japan, the largest international art exhibit in Japan. In addition to his art curation at the Triennial, he wrote compositions that were inspired by his study of local folk music, which he performed in a solo piano concert in Hachi, Japan. He later performed these works in another solo piano concert at the Japan Foundation, Toronto. Garten performed an hour-long solo piano improvised concert at the Tenri Cultural Institute in 2010. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of

The Music Gallery The Music Gallery is an independent performance venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known as a space for musical and interdisciplinary projects in experimental genres. The Music Gallery is publicly funded through arts grants from the city, pr ...

, one of Toronto's premier New Music performance venues. ''"Joel’s multi-layered music sweeps you away. He paints rich and mysterious mental landscapes and magically creates awesome sculptural shapes in your mind’s eye that continually transform and mesmerize... This is like NOTHING you’ve ever heard!"'' -

Jeanne Beker Jeanne Beker, (; born 19 March 1952) is a Canadian television personality, fashion editor, and author. Family Jeanne Beker was born in Toronto, Ontario to father Joseph Beker and mother Bronia Beker, two Jewish Holocaust survivors born in K ...

, Fashion Television

References

External links

Joel Garten, Composer, Pianist, ImprovisorNBC NEWS New York - Joel Garten In The StudioJoel Garten at the Japan FoundationJoel Garten's blog The Beauty of Life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garten, Joel 1981 births Living people 21st-century Canadian pianists

See also

References

External links