UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance Presents Matthew Whitaker Next Month

UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) presents jazz piano virtuoso Matthew Whitaker on Sunday, May 21 at 7 pm at The Theatre at Ace Hotel. Whitaker will perform music from his third and latest album, Connections, a sixteen-track collection that serves as a bold declaration of his maturity as a player, composer and bandleader. Tickets start at $40 and are available now at cap.ucla.edu or by calling 310-825-2101.

Whitaker has been garnering acclaim for almost as long as he has been making music. At just 13 years old, he became the youngest artist to be endorsed by Hammond Organs in their over 80-year history. At 15 he was named a Yamaha Artist; the youngest musician to join the stellar roster of jazz pianists. Now 22 years old, Whitaker has a career that has taken him all over the world, playing on renowned stages including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Apollo, Carnegie Hall, SFJAZZ Center, Newport Jazz Festival and international venues in France, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, UK, Australia, Switzerland, Portugal, Japan, Spain, Morocco and South Korea.

In 2010, Whitaker was a winning participant in the Child Stars of Tomorrow competition, as part of Amateur Night at the Apollo. A year later, at just 10 years old, he was invited to perform at Stevie Wonder's induction into The Apollo Theater's Hall of Fame. He returned to the Apollo for FOX TV's revival of Showtime at the Apollo in 2016, where he won the audience over with his rendition of Stevie Wonder's classic "I Wish."

In both 2019 and 2020, Whitaker won The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation's Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers award for his compositions, Emotions and Underground. Whitaker has appeared on television programs such as FOX TV's Showtime at the Apollo, the Today Show, Harry Connick Jr Show, Ellen and 60 Minutes. He recently starred, produced and scored the All Arts documentary About Tomorrow as well as composed the original score for the film Starkeisha, currently streaming on Hulu. Whitaker's three studio albums include Outta The Box, Now Hear This, and Connections where he has collaborated with Derrick Hodge, Ray Chew, Jon Batiste, Christian McBride and Regina Carter.

Funds provided by the Henry Mancini Tribute Fund and the Kevin Jeske Young Artist Fund.

The CAP UCLA 2023 spring programs continue on Thursday, June 22 with Dan Froot & Company's Arms Around America: Live Podcast Recording.

To post a comment, you must register and login.