Award-winning jazz pianist, composer and bandleader Jahari Stampley was born in Chicago and started playing piano at age 14. Within two years of exploring his instrument, he started winning competitions. By the age of 18, he was recognized and followed by such world-renowned musicians as Yebba Smith, Jill Scott, Robert Glasper, Jacob Collier and others. In 2023, Jahari won first place in the Herbie Hancock Institute International Competition, was named Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz, became the first non-classical musician to receive the Chicago Youth Symphony Alumni Award, and was awarded the 2023 LuminArts Fellowship for his debut album Still Listening. That album, by the way, rose to #1 on Apple iTunes in the first weeks of its release.
In May of this year, Jahari released the single "To Be Alive" from his second album, What a Time, set to be released in the US in September. Also this year, Jahari was presented with an ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award and was selected to perform at DC JazzFest as part of the Foundation's partnership with the festival.
As he geared up to take the DC JazzFest Transit Stage in August with his Jahari Stampley Family Band, featuring his mother, the Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist D-Erania Stampley, and some special guests, he shared what brought him to this moment in his career, what he has learned on his journey so far, and what he hopes to achieve with his music.
Also in this episode are excerpts from ASCAP's Etan Rosenbloom's interview with songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and Laufey collaborator Spencer Stewart about how jazz has impacted the way he makes music.
Visit Jahari Stampley online
Listen to "To Be Alive (Solo Piano)" from Jahari's forthcoming album, What a Time
Check out Laufey's new album, A Matter of Time
Download the ASCAP Mobile App
