Adam Birnbaum


Adam Birnbaum is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He was the winner of the 2004 American Piano Awards Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz.

Life and career

Birnbaum was born in 1979 in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied "music theory, chamber music, and classical and jazz performance" at the New England Conservatory of Music's Preparatory School. He graduated from Boston College in 2001, and went on to study at the Juilliard School. In 2004, he won the American Piano Awards Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz. Birnbaum toured Japan and South Korea in 2008 as part of the Juilliard Jazz All-Stars.
In 2008 Birnbaum received a Chamber Music America grant to compose music for a piano trio. From around 2009 Birnbaum has been part of drummer Al Foster's quartet.

Playing style

The DownBeat reviewer of Birnbaum's 2015 album Three of a Mind commented that the pianist "has a light touch, with playing that dances over the bars. He favors major keys, and his lyricism seems to sparkle".

Discography

An asterisk indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

As sideman