Jesse Taitt plays GBH Jazz Nights at the BPL Studio

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Boston-based pianist and composer Jesse Taitt is performing a solo set on Thursday, Feb. 13, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square through GBH Jazz Nights. Presented by GBH Music and JazzBoston, GBH Jazz Nights is a free monthly series, held on the second Thursday of every month through May. 

“GBH Music is committed to making jazz accessible to our audiences, and there’s no better way to do that than by joining forces with JazzBoston,” Sam Brewer, general manager of GBH Music, told the Banner. GBH has not yet chosen the schedule of performers from March through May. GBH Music’s Jazz Newsletter will provide that roster when it is decided.

Taitt, who is an assistant professor in the Harmony and Jazz Composition Department at Berklee College of Music and lecturer of jazz piano at Dartmouth College, is a force in the jazz scene in Boston, leading and collaborating with local and national musicians and appearing on their recordings, including those of Greg Groover, George Duke, Terri Lyne Carrington and Christian Scott.  The Banner spoke with Taitt a few weeks ago.

Banner: What are you planning to perform at the show on the 13th?
Jesse Taitt: I’ll probably be choosing both original music of my own as well as that from composers who have inspired me over the years.  Songs from the Great American Songbook by composers Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Then, too, music by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Thelonious Monk.   

You appear on two recordings by Greg Groover Jr., another young Boston musician. Tell us about that.
Greg and I are longtime music collaborators. We’ve known one another 20 plus years. He’s a little bit younger, but we’re musical equals and he’s like a brother to me. We went to the same high school. It was great to appear on his first two albums, “Negro Spiritual Songbook, Volume One,” and “Volume Two.”

I had thought to ask you about coming to Boston from New Jersey, but you’re a Bostonian. What’s the Jersey connection?
I graduated from William Patterson College in NJ with an MA. I studied jazz studies and arranging there. My early education was in Boston at the Boston Arts Academy; I graduated in 2013.

Who are you listening to these days?
Thelonious Monk. I just finished reading a great biography of Monk by Robin Kelly. Monk is so inspiring, and through the book I developed an even deeper appreciation of him. The hat I wear a lot is a tribute to the hat he wore often.

Tell us about your work teaching at Berklee and elsewhere.
I’m in the middle of my fourth year as assistant professor of Harmony and Jazz Composition at Berklee. I’m also a lecturer at Dartmouth in jazz piano, and at Wellesley as a coach and piano collaborator.

What are you planning for 2025 musically?
I’m trying to expand my repertoire. Big band music, a large ensemble, a trio. As a Boston local, I love the city, and look forward to this upcoming GBH venue.