Atlanta native Joe Alterman expresses a certain upbeat naiveté, with a broad smile and bright eyes that make you feel welcome. At first glance one might not guess that this is a man hailed by greats; Ramsey Lewis described his music as "happy music with tasty meat on the bones," Les McCann stated "Joe's on a 'blow your mind' level," and Ahmad Jamal referred to him as "a very special artist."
Journalist Nat Hentoff championed three of Alterman’s albums, as well as his writing (Joe wrote liner notes to three Wynton Marsalis/JLCO albums), calling one of Joe’s columns “one of the very best pieces on the essence of jazz, the spirit of jazz, that I’ve ever read, and I’m not exaggerating.”
He began at NYU with a BA and Masters in Jazz Piano and has since performed at many world renowned venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland and Blue Note alongside Houston Person, Les McCann, Dick Gregory, Ramsey Lewis, and his own trio, among others.
18 December 2009