Jahari Stampley

“JAZZ’S HANCOCK COMPETITION RETURNS, CROWNING AN ELECTRIFYING RISING STAR

"With a sound built around fluttering, arpeggiated motifs that he carries across keys and the full range of the keyboard, Stampley also refers directly to an African inheritance, redolent of the patterned plucking of a Malian kora or a Zimbabwean mbira.

Most important, his playing felt unforced, as if powered from an internal engine. This was an artist you wanted to hear again and to know more about.” - October 17, 2023, Giovanni Russonello New York Times

"On Sunday night at the new Perelman Performing Arts Center in Lower Manhattan, it won him first prize in the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition, instantly putting his insurgent talent on a broader global stage…When it was time for Goods and Allen to lock into his groove, they struggled, because Stampley left them in the dust; from his seat at the piano, he made it unclear whether he was piloting a Fazioli or a Ferrari.” - October 16, 2023, Nate Chinen, Editorial Director WRTI.

“When we were listening to all of the 11 contestants, we were thinking about who we wanted to continue hearing not just as judges but as fans,” Perez explained. “We were looking for someone who captured the potentiality of sound.” - October 31, 2023, John Murph, Downbeat Magazine

Jahari Stampley is a Chicago-born pianist who began playing the piano at the age of 14. Within two years of exploring the instrument, he began winning various competitions including Best High School Jazz Soloist Award and the National YoungArts Competition. By the age of 18 years old, he was recognized and followed by many world-renowned musicians including Yebba Smith, Jill Scott, Robert Glasper, Cory Henry, Jacob Collier, Stanley Clarke, and Derrick Hodge, among others. Jahari has toured with Stanley Clarke and is featured on Derrick Hodge’s "Color of Noise" album.

Jahari has performed in venues such as Radio City Music Hall in NYC, The Met Philadelphia, Byline Bank Aragon in Chicago, Carnegie Hall in NY, San Francisco Jazz Center, and MANY others. He’s also headlined & performed solo piano tours in Berlin, Koethen & Magdeburg, Germany, Geneva, Switzerland, and Los Angeles, California. He’s conducted music workshops in Santa Ana, Costa Rica, and taught masterclasses in Spokane, Washington. Jahari is also the band leader & featured pianist playing the part of Bill Withers in the feature film “Spinning Gold". Many of his performances have garnered praise in various media outlets, articles & magazines throughout the world.

Jahari won first place in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute International Competition, the 2023 Chicago Youth Symphony Alumni Award, the first non-classical musician to receive the honor; and awarded the 2023 Luminarts Fellowship for his debut album “ Still Listening.” Earlier in his life Jahari won the Bösendorfer prize for the international 2019 American Jazz Pianists Association Competition (for ages 18-25), the 2018 ASCAP Foundation Fran Morganstern Davis Scholarship, and the National Young Arts Foundation 2018 Young Arts Winner.

Alongside all of this, Jahari released his first Debut Album entitled “Still Listening” which rose to #1 on Apple iTunes in the first weeks of the Album’s release. The music on “Still Listening” has also been set in an orchestral arrangement for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Jahari Also designed and wrote the music for a music Education mobile game, "Piano Chronicles”. It is available as a mobile app for all mobile devices on Google Play Store and the Apple Store.