Creative Music in the 21st Century

Since its founding in 2001, Pi Recordings has been a vital home for recordings by boundary-blurring pioneers and bold new voices of Creative Music—a list that includes influential elders such as Henry Threadgill, whose Pi release, “In for a Penny, In for a Pound” earned the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and the likes of Steve Coleman, Marc Ribot, Jen Shyu, Anna Weber, Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey. As the label celebrates its 20th anniversary, it continues to extend powerful legacies, blaze new trails and, recently, invite fresh remixes of seminal works.

In celebration, pianist and composer David Virelles, whose 2012 Pi release “Continuum” helped set in motion his own stellar career, will perform a solo set. Following the performance, he’ll join journalist/critic Larry Blumenfeld, musicians Henry Threadgill and Val Jeanty (aka Val-Inc) and Pi Recordings partners Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang for a discussion of the joys, inspirations, challenges and community values involved in making creative music as the label enters its third decade.

About the Artist:

Cuban-born pianist David Virelles grew up in a musical home, his father a singer-songwriter and his mother a flutist and music teacher. Even though classically trained at the conservatory, he was also surrounded by many types of music in the culturally rich Santiago while growing up. Eventually, Virelles also discovered Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Andrew Hill, and he would soon start studying the connections between this musical tradition and those from his birthplace. Since his arrival in New York City, he has appeared on live concerts and recordings with musicians including Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Mark Turner, Henry Threadgill, Andrew Cyrille, Chris Potter, Wadada Leo Smith, Tom Harrell, Milford Graves and Ravi Coltrane.

Host or Publisher The National Jazz Museum in Harlem