students writing on white board with teacher

Lynne Arriale

Professor, Piano

Lynne Arriale headshot

Contact: (904) 620-3840

“One of the most exciting pianists in contemporary jazz” (The Guardian- UK), pianist Lynne Arriale has performed on international concert stages over the past 25 years. Jazz Police called her "the poet laureate of her generation". She has touched the hearts and inspired the imaginations of audiences worldwide and has been consistently praised as having a "singular voice" as a pianist, bandleader and composer. "I really can't compare her to anyone," said recent collaborator and multi-Grammy winner Randy Brecker. "Her music transcends the word 'jazz' - it is just pure music."

The consummate storyteller, Lynne immediately connects with her listeners. JazzTimes wrote, "She achieves a special, deep connection with her audience, and the energy flows both ways. Arriale’s emotional authenticity allows her audience to feel and think along with her… Lynne Arriale’s music lies at the synaptic intersection where brain meets heart, where body meets soul. She is one of jazzdom’s most intensely unique voices."

Lynne was the first prize winner of the 1993 International Great American Jazz Piano Competition, and soon launched her touring and recording career. Her 14 albums as a leader have topped the Jazzweek Radio Charts; Inspiration and Arise- #1, Come Together #3, Nuance #4 and were included on numerous "Best Of" lists, including The New Yorker and United Press International. LIVE (CD/DVD) was named one of UPI’s Best Jazz CDs and among The New Yorker Magazine’s Best CDs of the year. Solo was named one of the top CDs of 2012 by JAZZIZ Magazine, and Convergence was named one of the top 50 CDs of 2011 by JazzTimes. Her most recent release,Give Us These Days, was included in the top Jazz CDs of 2018 by Jazz History Online, the Best New Jazz Releases of 2018 by Artsfuse and reached #15 on the Jazzweek national radio charts. Arriale was #13, #17 and #18 in the piano category for the 2015, 2016 and 2018 Downbeat Reader's Poll.

Lynne toured Japan with “100 Golden Fingers”, a group that included iconic jazz pianists Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Monty Alexander, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern, Roger Kellaway, Junior Mance and Ray Bryant. Arriale has performed and/or recorded with jazz greats Randy Brecker, George Mraz, Benny Golson, Rufus Reid, Larry Coyell and Marian McPartland, to name a few.

The world's great jazz festivals and concert stages have invited Lynne to perform, including five performances at the Kennedy Center and additional performances at Lincoln Center, Montreux, Burghausen, Gilmore, Spoleto Arts, Montreal, Monterey, North Sea, Stuttgart, Pori, San Francisco, Ottawa, Zagreb, Perth, Brisbane, Rouen, Cannes MIDEM, Sardinia, Rochester, Wigan, Poznan, Estoril, Palermo, Inverness, Cork and San Javier.

Lynne’s tours have taken her to Brazil, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, France, Belgium,The Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Australia, Japan, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, China, South Africa and the U.S.

Her live TV and radio appearances and concert performances include Profile of a Recording Artist, NPR’s Weekend Edition, Jazz Set, Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland. Her print media features include Billboard, Downbeat, JazzTimes, JAZZIZ, BBC Magazine, and the London Times. She was the first woman to have the cover story for JazzEd Magazine, and additional cover stories include One Way and M Magazines. Her live media appearances include CNN/FN’ Biz, NPR’s Jazz Piano Christmas – Live from The Kennedy Center, and radio/TV interviews throughout the U.S., U.K., and Europe, including the BBC, Radio France and German National Television.

Lynne is also an active educator and adjudicator. She was invited to adjudicate the Montreux Jazz Competition, American Pianists Association Fellowship Awards, The Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Competition, The American Jazz Pianist Competition and the Jacksonville Piano Competition. She was a featured mentor with jazz great, Toshiko Akiyoshi, at The Mary Lou Williams Emerging Artist Workshop at the Kennedy Center. She has served as a faculty member of the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, the Centrum Port Townsend Jazz Workshop, the Thelonious Monk Institute and has conducted master classes and clinics internationally throughout the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Brazil and South Africa.

Lynne is currently Professor of Jazz Studies and Director of Small Ensembles at The University of North Florida in Jacksonville and is a Yamaha Artist.