BRUCE BARTH TUSCANY JAZZ PIANO AND TRIO MASTER CLASS

MAY 28 & 29, 2025 CERTALDO, TUSCANY, ITALY

A two day intensive course with one of the world’s greatest living jazz pianists.

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THE EVENT IS OPEN TO PIANISTS AND ALL INTERESTED MUSICIANS, AS WELL AS ANYONE WHO WANTS TO LISTEN/OBSERVE.

Participants (Full) are invited to attend and play at the piano class, the masterclass on solo performance, and the masterclass on trio playing with Bruce’s the rhythm section.

FULL PARTICIPANT €230.00

Includes entry and participation at the piano classes, masterclasses and jam sessions during the 2 day event.

LISTENER/OBSERVER €100.00

Includes entry as a listener/observer at the piano classes, masterclass and jam sessions during the 2 day event

PLEASE NOTE: Accommodation, travel and food are not included in the price. We recommend staying at Hotel Albergo Il Castello which is where the masterclasses and the event take place. Contact details will be provided during the application process.

The piano classes will run from 11.00 - 13.00 with a break, and the masterclasses will take place from 15.00 - 17.30 with a break. The trio will perform a set each evening followed by opportunities for participants to perform in various formats including solo, duo, /4 hands and with rhythm section.

A note from Bruce: 

My goal is to inspire you to have a sense of joy and creativity in your playing and practicing, and hopefully to provide you  with ideas to take your music-making forward.  Even better, to encourage you to come up with your own ideas and activities!

SOME OF THE TOPICS COVERED DURING THE TWO DAYS

1. Warm-ups and physical approach to phrasing and rhythm

2. Practising a tune:

a. phrasing and interpreting the melody

b. harmonizing the melody, creating an arrangement

c. working on soloing over the chord changes

- “making friends” with each chord

- practising in sections

- singing and guide-tone lines

- rhythmic approaches to free you from what you may

- already know, and help you improvise in the moment

3. Approaches to improvisation

a. Further work in “modelling,” or developing your own ideas based

on things that inspire you.

b. Developing your own approach to harmonic substitutions

c. How your L.H comp can enhance the sound of your lines

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BRUCE BARTH

Jazz pianist and composer Bruce Barth has been sharing his music with listeners the world over for more than three decades. Deeply rooted in the jazz tradition, his music reflects both the depth and breadth of his life and musical experiences. In addition to traveling widely performing his own music, he has also performed with revered jazz masters, as well as collaborated with leading musicians of his own generation. And most notably, his performances feature material from his large book of very powerful and imaginative original compositions, written in a voice that is both deeply personal and expressive.

Tony Bennett, with whom Bruce toured for over a year, says "I have a great love for excellent musicians, and Bruce Barth is one of my favourites."

Bruce has performed on over one hundred recordings and movie soundtracks, including ten as a leader. He is equally at home playing solo piano (American Landscape on Satchmo Jazz Records), leading an all-star septet (East and West on MaxJazz), and composing for a variety of ensembles. His trio has recorded live at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City.

Originally from Pasadena, California, Barth started piano lessons at the age of five, with a natural tendency to play by ear. He fell in love with jazz as a teenager, and learned by listening, later studying at New England Conservatory in Boston. While in Boston, he recorded George Russell's masterpiece, "The African Game" for Blue Note Records.

Within a year of moving to Brooklyn in 1988, Barth toured Japan with Nat Adderley. He
started working with Vincent Herring and Stanley Turrentine, and joined Terence Blanchard's quintet in 1990. During the next four years, he toured extensively with Blanchard, recorded six CD's and several movie soundtracks, and played onscreen in Spike Lee's film, Malcolm X.

While in Blanchard's band, he recorded his first two CD's as a leader, In Focus and Morning Call on the Enja label, both which were chosen for the New York Times' top ten lists in their respective years. These recordings displayed not only Barth's piano work, but the scope of his original com positions and memorable arrangements of jazz standards.

He has continued to release a stream of critically acclaimed recordings in solo, trio, quintet and septet groupings, the latter featured on his 2001 release East and West; with an all-star group playing Barth's compositions based on memories of his childhood experiences in the Western United States -- deserts, ranches, and ghost towns. His Live at the Village Vanguard CD was second on the national radio charts, and won international critical acclaim.

Some of Barth's recent appearances include trio performances at Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, and Smoke in New York, several major European Festivals including San Sebastian, Stockholm, and Barcelona, and solo piano tours of Japan. His septet has played in several
festivals, including Terrassa, Spain, and Braga, Portugal.

He has performed with James Moody, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Tony Bennett, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Victor Lewis, John Patitucci, Lewis Nash, Vincent Herring, George Robert, Steve Wilson, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, David Sanchez, Terell Stafford, Tim Armacost, Luciana Souza, Karrin Allyson, Dave Stryker, and the Mingus Big Band.

WHAT THE PRESS SAYS

"One of the best pianists in town, period." - Village Voice

"At the piano, no one sounds quite like Barth. His solos are characterized by robust swing, by his ability to tell a story, and by his rich, beguiling sound.
- Newark Star-Ledger

"Pianist Barth digs deep to his true soul in the keyboard language..... self-assured and full of ideas......"
- Downbeat

"The Pianist Bruce Barth brought a lot of resources to the bandstand.” - New York Times

".....a pianist of enormous ability.....Barth plays with an understated intensity, swathed in graceful technique and cradled in modernist harmonies."
- Jazziz

".....a pearly touch and clear notion of where each improvisation is going." - Boston Globe

"Subtlety and sophistication seem to come naturally to jazz pianist Bruce Barth. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Chockful of surprising twists, turns, and tempo shifts that separate the premier players from the pretenders in this genre."
- CMJ New Music Report