Alum

Laszlo Gardony

Position
Professor
Affiliated Departments
Telephone
617-747-8187

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Career Highlights
  • Leader of own trio, quartet, and sextet, as well as solo pianist
  • Has 14 albums featuring 55 original compositions, 18 solo piano improvisations, and 28 original arrangements of jazz standards, rock and traditional songs, and six band improvisations released on the Sunnyside, Antilles, and Avenue Jazz labels
  • Performances and/or recordings with Dave Holland, David “Fathead” Newman, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, and Eddie Gomez, among many others
  • Appearances at major venues including jazz festivals and jazz clubs, such as Symphony Hall (Boston), the Opera City Concert Hall (Tokyo), the Blue Note and Birdland (New York City), the Monterey Festival, and the Bracknell Festival (London), among others
  • Both the 2015 live sextet recording Life in Real Time (Sunnyside Records) and the 2017 solo piano album Serious Play (Sunnyside) named by the Boston Globe as among the 10 Best Nationwide Jazz Releases of the Year
  • Compositions featured on Blue Note, Accurate, and Jazziz Critics' Choice CDs
  • Featured sideman with Yoron Israel's High Standards, Matt Glaser's Wayfaring Strangers, and the John Coltrane Memorial Ensemble, among others
  • Selected recordings as sideman include Yoron Israel's Visions: Music of Stevie Wonder (Ronja Music Company) and This Moment (Ronja Music Company), the Wayfaring Strangers' This Train (Rounder) and Shifting Sands of Time (Rounder), Garrison Fewell's Reflection of a Clear Moon (Accurate), Shelley Neill Quintet featuring John Blake Jr.'s The Blues Runs through It (Cobalt Blue Music), Christian Artmann's Our Story (Sunnyside) and The Middle of Life (Sunnyside), and Kevin Kastning's Levitation I (Greydisc)
  • Critically acclaimed releases as a leader include Close Connection (2022), La Marseillaise (2019), Serious Play (2017), Life in Real Time (2015), Clarity (2013), Signature Time (2011), Dig Deep (2008), and Natural Instinct (2006), among others, all on Sunnyside Records
Awards
  • Voting Member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

  • Recipient of three Boston Music Award nominations

  • First prize, 1987 Great American Jazz Piano Competition
Education
  • M.Ed., ELTE Science University
  • B.M., Bela Bartok Conservatory
  • Diploma, Berklee College of Music
In Their Own Words

"I focus on finding the musical styles and the performers that truly inspire and excite my students. Then I find ways to expand their horizons and further develop their performing and writing skills, using their favorites as launching pads for discussion and expansion. My goal is to help them develop into well-rounded musicians who retain their love of music and develop their original voice, all the while learning about the masters and honing their musical skills. My happiest moments as a teacher come from seeing a student's eyes light up about an assignment, a recording, or either their own performance or mine. I feel that because I've helped my students learn how to evolve effectively and joyfully they can learn life lessons in addition to their musical training."

"I teach students ways of practicing in which inspiration and analysis mutually support each other. My aim is to teach them an appreciation of both intuition and analysis so there is no conflict between the two. Instead, they mutually enhance each other. I want to see my students grow more inspired as well as more knowledgeable. I always emphasize having fun while learning, enjoying the process. I encourage my students to always practice in a musical way, never approaching music mechanically or viewing it as a mere skill."