Holiday Jazz Celebration: Colin Heshmat Group

Colin Heshmat is a jazz pianist based in New York City. Heavily influenced by the crisp, economic aesthetic of pianists such as Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, Wynton Kelly, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell, Colin focuses on repertoire inspired by the straight-ahead jam session tradition. Upon moving to New York City in 2019, he has established regular gigs at venues such as the Knickerbocker Bar and Grill in Greenwich Village and Hotel NH Collection New York on Madison Avenue. Inclusive of New York, he has performed at clubs and sessions across the United States, including Churchill grounds, The Velvet Note (Atlanta, GA), Andy’s Club, The Green Mill (Chicago, IL), Minton’s Playhouse, Smalls, Mezzrow, Fat Cat (New York, NY), and Jazz Central (Minneapolis, MN). From these musical communities, Colin has met and played with many well-studied artists including Pharez Whitted, Dick Oatts, Bobby Broom, and the late Roy Hargrove.

Colin grew up in Springfield, Illinois and studied engineering and music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has studied with pianists including Jane Hartman, Chip Stephens, Mary Louis Knutson, Ethan Iverson, Barry Harris, and Fred Hersch.

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