Dan Tepfer, born in Paris to American parents and based in New York City, is “a pianist of extraordinary technique and fearless harmonic sensibility” (JazzTimes). He has performed globally with leading figures in jazz and classical music, from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming, and has released twelve albums as leader in solo, duo, and trio formats.
Tepfer gained international recognition with his 2011 release Goldberg Variations / Variations, where he performed and improvised on Bach’s masterpiece, to “elegant, thoughtful, and thrilling” effect (New York magazine). In 2019, he revisited his undergraduate studies in astrophysics in the video album Natural Machines, where he explored in real time the intersection of digital algorithms and the rhythms of the heart. The New York Times has described him as a “deeply rational improviser drawn to the unknown.” In 2023, he returned to Bach with Inventions / Reinventions, which topped the Billboard Classical Charts.
His compositions extend beyond jazz, including the piano quintet Solar Spiral, the orchestral suite Algorithmic Transform, and Three Poems of Virginie Sampeur, a song cycle for jazz great Cécile McLorin Salvant and string orchestra.
Tepfer's accolades include first prizes at the Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition and the American Pianists Awards, as well as fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the MacDowell Colony, and the Fondation BNP-Paribas.