Join me for After Hours Alaska at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23, on KRBD public radio in Ketchikan, Alaska, as I’m joined in conversation with jazz pianist Christian Jacob.

Christian is a multi-Grammy-nominated pianist and arranger and first gained widespread exposure as music director for Maynard Ferguson and later as leader of the Christian Jacob Trio and co-leader of the Tierney Sutton Band.

“A post-bop modernist touched by the souls of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. … Pianist Christian Jacob is a wonderful player whose crystalline melodies and expansive harmonies mark him as someone to keep an ear on.” ~ JAZZ TIMES

Born in Lorraine, France, Christian fell in love with classical music at age 4 and discovered jazz at age 9. After graduating with “First Prize” from the Paris Conservatory, Jacob came to America to focus on improvisation at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.  While attending Berklee, Christian won a number of awards, including the Oscar Peterson Jazz Masters Award, the Great American Jazz Piano Competition and “Downbeat” magazine’s distinction as Top Collegiate Jazz Soloist. He went on to teach at Berklee, tour with Maynard Ferguson, perform and record with a number of jazz legends and was listed by The Japan Times as one of the best-selling foreign jazz pianists in Japan. His extensive discography includes five critically acclaimed trio recordings and seven Grammy nominations from his alliance with vocalist Tierney Sutton, drummer Ray Brinker and bassists Trey Henry and Kevin Axt. Christian also received a Grammy Nomination as an arranger with The Phil Norman Tentet.

While Christian performs year round, his arranging skills are also highly sought after. He has been arranging for the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra since 1990 and The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra since 2005, featuring such talented artists as John Scofield, Billy Cobham, Charlie Haden, Phil Woods, Joe Lovano, Ron Carter and Gary Burton. Christian’s latest collaboration has been with renowned Japanese composer Kunihiko Murai and Maestro Jorge Calandrelli.

In 2014, Christian released his first solo piano recording, Beautiful Jazz: a private concert, aptly titled as this intimate solo recording is a dedication to the music that drew him away from the classical world and introduced him to the beautiful world of jazz. Recorded in pure analog and available as a limited edition vinyl LP.

In 2016, the original score to director Clint Eastwood’s box-office smash “Sully”, was created by Christian, The Tierney Sutton Band and Clint Eastwood. It was a fulfilling moment, to orchestrate his and the band’s music for a 70-piece orchestra and hear it live with the brilliant Conrad Pope conducting. The following year Eastwood asked Christian to compose the music for his next film, “The 15:17 to Paris.”

Click this link to go to Christian’s personal website.