Billy Test

Billy Test
Born	February 21, 1989 (age 37); Philipsburg, Pennsylvania
Genres	Jazz; Classical music;
Instruments	Piano; Hammond organ;

Billy Test (born February 21, 1989^[1] in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania^[2]) is an American jazz pianist, composer and arranger, who has been a member of the Big Band of West German Broadcasting Cologne (WDR Big Band) in Cologne since 2018.

Life and work

Test started playing the piano at the age of seven. He began as a classical pianist. In 2011 he completed his bachelor's degree at William Paterson University with a double degree in jazz and classical piano^[2] with summa cum laude and in the same year won the first concert competition in the history of this university. In May 2015 he completed his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where Jim McNeely, Garry Dial, Phil Markowitz, Dave Liebman, Lisa Yui and Marjean Olson were his teachers. He was also taught by Jean-Michel Pilc, Frank Kimbrough, Sophia Rosoff, Marc Mommaas and Fred Hersch.

Test played with the Village Vanguard Orchestra and musicians like Dave Liebman (saxophone), Scott Robinson (trumpet), Joel Frahm (saxophone), Leon Parker (drums), Benyamin Nuss (piano), Ugonna Okegwo (bass), Sheila Jordan (vocals), Noah Preminger (saxophone), Bill Goodwin (drums), Jay Leonhart (bass), Billy Drummond (drums), Jerry Bergonzi (saxophone) and Dennis Mackrel (drums).

As a solo pianist and with his quintet The Test Subjects, he appeared in New York clubs such as the Cornelia Street Cafe or the Deer Head Inn. He can be heard as a soloist on Jon Di Fiore's album Patience (2012), Verena McBee's Can't Help It (2013), Miho Hazama’s Dancer in Nowhere (2018), Olivia Foschi's Fleeting Windows (2018), Diane Hoffman's Do I Love You (2018), Aimée Allen's Wings Uncaged (2018) and Sara Decker's Poetryfied (2020).

As a teacher, he has taught at the New York Jazz Workshop, the Manhattan School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music Precollege. He has been a visiting musician and lecturer at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, and the Penn State Summer Music Academy.

Prizes and awards

2011: Pearl and Julius Young Music Competition, honorary award
2012: Nottingham International Solo Jazz Piano Competition, semi-finalist
2015: DownBeat Student Music Awards, winner of the Graduate College in the category “outstanding soloists”
2017: Montreux Jazz Piano Competition, 2nd place

Discography

2014: Intersecting Lines, with Jason Kush (saxophone); New Focus Recordings
2020: Segment, with John Goldsby (bass) and Hans Dekker (drums); Bass Lion Music
2021: Coming Down Roses, with Evan Gregor (bass) and Ian Froman (drums); Aveni Test Music
2021: Mia Brentano's Summerhouse: New Music for 2 Pianos, with Benyamin Nuss (piano); Mons Records

References

↑ "Billy Test - American Pianists Association". www.americanpianists.org. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Bongiovanni, Domenica (7 November 2018). "A jazz pianist who toured with Jaimoe is a finalist for a prestigious Indianapolis award". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 30 September 2021.

External links

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[1] "Billy Test - American Pianists Association". www.americanpianists.org. Retrieved 30 September 2021.

[IndianaStar-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Bongiovanni, Domenica (7 November 2018). "A jazz pianist who toured with Jaimoe is a finalist for a prestigious Indianapolis award". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 30 September 2021.

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