Praised by the New Yorker magazine as, “A young pianist of invention and refinement,” Bobby Avey has established himself as an emerging star on the international jazz scene.  On his solo piano album entitled Be Not So Long To Speak, The New York Times deemed it  “A solo-piano record of mystery, patience, imagination and clear design. Keep an eye on this guy.”

In 2011, Avey won the esteemed Thelonious Monk Competition for composition.  This award followed his 2010 debut album as a leader, A New Face, lauded by the NY Times as “A strong and purposeful album.”  In 2005, while a student at the Purchase Conservatory of Music, he was invited by NEA Jazz Master David Liebman to adapt and arrange art songs from the Classical and Romantic eras for reinterpretation, creating a vehicle for improvisation. The project, which culminated with the album Vienna Dialogues, was released in 2006 on ZOHO to rave reviews.

Also in 2011 Avey received the New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development grant from Chamber Music America.  The grant enabled Avey to travel to Haiti to record a Vodou Ceremony in the small village of Soukri and then create an hour-long suite grounded in rhythms found in Haitian Vodou drumming.  The suite, entitled Authority Melts From Me, pays homage to the Haitian Revolution and is his debut for Whirlwind Recordings. The album features the immense talents of Miguel Zenón, Ben Monder, Thomson Kneeland, and Jordan Perlson.

Avey is a current member of David Liebman’s ‘Expansions’.  He is a past Yamaha Young Performing Artist on piano and graduated from Purchase Conservatory of Music Summa Cum Laude in 2007.

Photo of Bobby Avey by Eliseo Cardona of Chromatic Blues Photography