Joe Block

Joe Block plays Cellar Dog on Tuesday, October 20, with a full quintet. He's a Philadelphia native now based in New York, so this is a homecoming of sorts. He's a Steinway Artist and an award-winning pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and musical director, and he'll be leading the group from the keys.

Block's background is a bit of a long story. He was classically trained from the age of two before he discovered jazz, and he later went through the Columbia-Juilliard dual-degree program. Since then, he's worked as a sideman with Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Gary Bartz, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, and Lincoln Center. Jazz at Lincoln Center named him one of "jazz's most promising young composers," and he's picked up a few awards along the way: the 2024 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, a semi-finalist spot in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition, and a finalist place for the 2027 American Pianists Awards. He also spent time as associate musical director and pianist for George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway.

For this show, he's bringing a full band: Noah Halpern on trumpet, Chris Lewis on saxophone, Sam Harris on bass, and Miguel Russell on drums. It's a quintet, so there's a horn section to go along with the rhythm section. He also leads the Open Heart Trio, and this past September he released There is Always Hope, his first small-group record of original compositions.

The set runs from 8 PM to 9:30 PM at Cellar Dog, 258 South 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, with doors opening at 7 PM.