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Joshua Espinoza

Latino-American pianist Joshua Espinoza blends and bends genres into a style that is immediately relatable yet difficult to define. Fusing the spontaneity of jazz with soaring folk melodies, shimmering impressionism, and head bopping backbeats, Espinoza explores the art of musical storytelling with the refinement of classical chamber music but the freedom of jazz. Espinoza has performed professionally with jazz luminaries such as Sean Jones, Warren Wolf, Miho Hazama, Jihye Lee, Paul Bollenback, John D’earth, Mike Pope, Chuck Redd, and Kris Funn.

A finalist in the 2018 Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition, his playing has been heard on international stages including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Blues Alley, Keystone Korner, The Jazz Kitchen, The Kennedy Center, the Barns at Wolftrap, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the DC Jazz Festival. His single “And So It Goes” broke into the Top 40 of Spotify’s Global Jazz Charts in 2022, and he has released three albums with his eponymous trio: Journey into Night (2019), Songs from Yesterday (2023), and Live at the Pumphouse (2024). Currently, Joshua resides in Baltimore, MD and is on faculty at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. To read and hear more, visit www.joshuaespinoza.com.

Awards

Finalist - 2018 Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition

Semi-Finalist - 2016 UNISA International Jazz Piano Competition (Pretoria, South Africa)

Joshua Espinoza: Songs From Yesterday

Read "Songs From Yesterday" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
September 19, 2023

The period of reflection afforded by the pandemic continues to provide fertile ground for musical expression. For pianist Joshua Espinoza, it gave him time to reflect on childhood and his early musical memories. This eventually evolved into his second album, Songs of Yesterday. This follows on from his first release, Journey Into Night (Self-produced, 2019). With Mexican and Appalachian parents, Espinoza has two distinct strands of musical heritage to draw upon. He explores both, alongside bassist Kris Monson ...

Album Review

Joshua Espinoza: Journey Into Night

Read "Journey Into Night" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
May 13, 2020

"Sento che la mia arte abita lo spazio tra jazz e musica classica. Sono innamorato di compositori come Debussy, Ravel, Chopin ma cerco la libertà di Art Tatum e Bill Evans." Con queste parole il giovane pianista di Baltimora, Joshua Espinoza, si presenta in occasione del debutto in trio con Mikel Combs al contrabbasso e Jaron Lamar Davis alla batteria. Le coordinate stilistiche di fondo sono quelle delineate nell'ultimo ventennio da Brad Mehldau ma Espinoza mostra ottime doti: ...

Album Review

Joshua Espinoza Trio: Journey Into Night

Read "Journey Into Night" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
June 4, 2019

“Let's all get up, And dance to a tune That was a hit Before your mother was born." So said Paul McCartney, way back in another century, on the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour (Capitol, 1968). On his debut release, pianist Joshua Espinoza gets into that McCartney-esque frame of mind (sitting at the keyboard rather than dancing), opening with Burt Bacharach's classic “Always Something There to Remind Me," released as a single by Lou ...

"Espinoza has an elegant touch...exquisitely done." - All About Jazz
"...a complete triumph." - All About Jazz
‟...a testament to the innovation that Espinoza brings to the art of the piano trio."
- Jazz in Europe
"Espinoza is a powerful storyteller on his instrument." - CapitalBop