All About Jazzical® with Joel A. Martin
Joel A. Martin is the creator and registered trademark owner of Jazzical®, a genre-blending approach that unites classical precision with jazz imagination. An internationally renowned pianist, producer, composer, and arranger, he has collaborated with Grammy® Award-winners Alan Menken and Fergie, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, cellist Eugene Friesen of the Paul Winter Consort, and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jaimoe.
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At 17, Joel became the youngest and first African-American pianist to compete in the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He later appeared as soloist with major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony. From 2010-2023, he toured internationally as pianist/arranger with five-time Grammy-winning Metropolitan Opera legend soprano Kathleen Battle.
Joel’s original Christmas song “Christmas Will Soon Be Here” premiered on ABC TV’s Live with Kelly and Mark (December 23, 2024 and December 25, 2025), performed by the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus with Joel at the piano; a three-year licensing deal followed.
Joel A. Martin is the creator and registered trademark owner of Jazzical®, a genre-blending approach that unites classical precision with jazz imagination. An internationally renowned pianist, producer, composer, and arranger, he has collaborated with Grammy® Award-winners Alan Menken and Fergie, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, cellist Eugene Friesen of the Paul Winter Consort, and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jaimoe.
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At 17, Joel became the youngest and first African-American pianist to compete in the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He later appeared as soloist with major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony. From 2010-2023, he toured internationally as pianist/arranger with five-time Grammy-winning Metropolitan Opera legend soprano Kathleen Battle.
Joel’s original Christmas song “Christmas Will Soon Be Here” premiered on ABC TV’s Live with Kelly and Mark (December 23, 2024 and December 25, 2025) for over 4,000,000 viewers worldwide, performed by the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus with Joel at the piano; a three-year licensing deal followed.
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Since its debut in Garni Armenia in Oct. 2019 and subsequent NYC debut Dec. 2019 at St Vartan Armenian Cathedral in NYC, Jazzical Komitas concerts have been presented at Komitas Chamber Music Hall in Yerevan, Orion Summit 2022 at Matenadaran (Yerevan), Little Island Concert Series in NYC, Clayton Piano Festival (Raleigh NC), Mezzo Jazz Club (Yerevan), Komitas Chamber Music Hall (Yerevan), Synergy Yerevan, San Francisco, Los Angeles at the Alex Theater, Dvin Music Hall’s One and Only Theater (presented by the Tovmasyan Foundation with musical collaboration with the Armenia State Symphony Orchestra - ARM Symphony), and most recently at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Yerevan, Alex Theater in Los Angeles, and the Harvard Club in NYC honoring NY State Governor Kathy Hochul sponsored by the Armenian Bar Association of NY.
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In October 2025 Joel premiered Jazzical Komitas at St Vartan Armenian Cathedral in NYC in a project Jazzical Komitas - Classic Aznavour" with conductor Sipan Olah and the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia.
In 2026 look for the 3rd CD in the series with the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, a documentary directed by Oscar-nominated film director Naré Mkrtchyan, currently in production. He will also bring the Jazzical Komitas flavor to arts in education initiatives throughout Armenia and the world through Children of Armenia Fund and the Tumo Center.
Joel resides in Norwalk, Connecticut with his wife and two teenage daughters.