Joe Block Open Heart Trio

Rising star pianist and composer Joe Block brings his Open Heart Trio to the Side Door.

What to expect: An up close evening with a young pianist and composer who has already played with Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Gary Bartz. In a 68-seat listening room, you'll hear a trio that's focused, intimate, and in the moment.

Personnel:
Joe Block · Piano
Rest of trio TBA

Joe Block is a pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader from Philadelphia, now based in New York City. He was classically trained from the age of two, studied jazz at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, and is a graduate of the Columbia University and Juilliard dual degree program. His teachers included Geoffrey Keezer, Marc Cary, Ted Rosenthal, and Frank Kimbrough.

Block has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gary Bartz, and Leslie Odom Jr., and has played Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Village Vanguard, and the Apollo Theater. In 2025 he was associate musical director and pianist for George Clooney's Broadway production of Good Night, and Good Luck. Jazz at Lincoln Center has called him one of "jazz's most promising young composers," and his music has been performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Wynton Marsalis Septet.

He won the 2024 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition, and is a Steinway Artist. He leads the Open Heart Trio and the Joe Block Quintet.

The Side Door Jazz Club is a dedicated jazz listening room located inside the historic Old Lyme Inn, 85 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT.