Isaiah J. Thompson is a jazz pianist, bandleader and composer from West Orange, New Jersey. He received his B.M. in 2019 and his M.M. in 2020 from The Juilliard School and has since has performed with major artists, including Christian McBride, Steve Turre, John Pizzarelli and Buster Williams.

 

Isaiah is an alumni of Jazz House Kids, the Vail Summer Jazz Workshop, YoungArts, Essentially Ellington, the Mingus Competition and the Summer Jazz Academy. He recently worked on The Motherless Brooklyn movie and soundtrack and was featured on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records’ release: Handful of Keys with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Isaiah won second place in the 2018 Thelonious Monk (now Herbie Hancock) Institute of Jazz Piano Competition and believes that artistry is a direct channel into the mind and soul of an artist, and as such, feels that it is important to not lose sight of one’s individuality or that of others. This had led to his ardent advocacy for diversity both in and outside of his field. As a performer, he tries to emit a feeling of joy and convey his personal experiences through music, and through his everlasting love of jazz.