Two rising stars in Jazz teams up with an ALL STAR for their goodbye concert before heading to New York! Join us as we present Luis Peralta and Ben Esposito with Essiet Essiet.
Rising star Luis Peralta is a 20-year-old pianist from Oakland, California. He began playing piano at seven, embarking quickly on a serious study of European Classical and American Classical Music (Jazz). In 2017 he performed Alex Conde’s Concierto Para Piano Flamenco y Orquesta as a soloist with the Oakland Youth Orchestra. He has studied with and performed with Bay Area figures such as Howard Wiley and Marcus Shelby. Currently, he studies with pianists Sullivan Fortner and John McCarthy. Luis was awarded a full scholarship to study piano at the New School and is headed their this month.
Ben Esposito, a drummer who is emerging through the scene as one of the top call musicians, will also be headed to New York to attend the New School. Esposito is a local musician - born and raised in Alameda. He was a college freshman studying music education and performance at Chicago’s DePaul University when the pandemic hit, and had been playing weekly at a Baptist Church on Chicago’s South side as well as working with the great guitarist Bobby Broom and bassist Dennis Carroll. He came back home to the Bay Area and soon got busy working with great players, both budding talents and seasoned pros. Now he’s headed to New York with Luis to begin their next chapter.
Considered one of the top bassists in jazz today, Essiet Essiet first received critical acclaim over a decade ago in Bobby Watson's group Horizon. Born in Nebraska to Nigerian parents, he began studying violin at age10 and switched to bass viol at 14. As a child, he traveled widely with his family and that early exposure to many cultures, folk- ways, languages, and religions fostered his world view of strength through diversity. Some musicians are purists, says Essiet, but I like to mix styles. Essiet was Art Blakey's last bassist, playing with him for 2 years and on 3 CDs. He's also performed with Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Kurt Elling, Joe Locke, and the Blue Note All-Stars, to name a few.
Tickets at Luis, Ben & Essiet