Called “one of the best piano dates we’ve ever heard so far this year” by the Downtown Music Gallery, Jesse Stacken is a jazz pianist of superior quality. Tonight, the Jesse Stacken Trio will be performing selections from their acclaimed release “That That” Fresh Sound New Talent as well as selections to be recorded in the spring.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Jesse Stacken began playing piano at the age of ten. He quickly developed a passion for jazz improvisation and began playing professionally at the age of 16. Jesse moved to New York City in 2002, where he now lives and performs with artists such as Michael Blake, Peter Van Huffel, Liam Sillery, Sherisse Rogers, and Erica vonKleist. Jesse has appeared at noted New York City venues including Carnegie Hall, the Jazz Gallery, the Jazz Standard, 55bar, the Cornelia St. Café, the Center for Improvisational Music, and Barbes. He leads the Jesse Stacken Trio, which has been together since early 2005 and recently released “That That” on Fresh Sound records. The album features bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Jeff Davis peforming ten of Jesse’s original compositions and two group improvisations, and has received critical acclaim. Other current projects include “No Truck” featuring trumpeter Kirk Knuffke, saxophonist
Justin Keller, and drummer Ziv Ravitz, and the Stacken/Knuffke duo. Jesse has toured North and South America, and Japan, and is featured on recordings such as The Peter Van Huffel Quintet “Silvester Battlefield” (Fresh Sound), Liam Sillery “Minor Changes” (OA2 records), Erica vonKleist “Project E” (self-released), and Sherisse Roger’s “Sleight of Hand” (self released) featuring Donny McCaslin, Joel Frahm, and Dave Liebman. Jesse has also recently performed with acclaimed jazz artists Rufus Reid, and Chris Potter. www..jessestacken.com