On Thursday, March 31st from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in Dorothy Maynor Hall at the Harlem School of the Arts (HSA), the brilliant young pianist, bandleader and composer Isaiah J. Thompson will guide the HSA’s young instrumentalist student group, through a masterclass that includes a critique on technique, performance and improvisational skills. The session will conclude with a performance by Mr. Thompson. This young keyboardist has perfected his style and approach performing with jazz royalty including Ron Carter, John Pizzarelli, Christian McBride, Steve Turre and Buster Williams. A graduate of Juilliard, he began his love affair with music at an early age, attending The Calderone School of Music and later joining Jazz House Kids and NJPAC Jazz for Kids. Now at the tender age of 24 he is garnering global recognition for what one reporter called the “...ability to deliver the so elusive X factor across a wide range of jazz styles.” Mr. Thompson is a 2018 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award recipient, took second place at the Thelonious Monk Competition, was named a Steinway Artist, worked on the Golden Globe nominated soundtrack for Motherless Brooklyn directed by actor Edward Norton, starring Willem Dafoe, Alec Baldwin and Bobby Cannavale. Isaiah was one of the featured players on The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis 2016 album, Handful of Keys, which charted the evolution of the piano over the 20th century, and included performances by pianists Joey Alexander, Dick Hyman, Myra Melford, and Helen Sung. In 2020, he released his debut album as a leader titled, Isaiah J. Thompson Plays the Music of Buddy Montgomery.