Jazz pianist Justin Kauflin (left) had his latest album mastered by Bernie Grundman (right).Photo: David Goggin.
Hollywood, CA (December 1, 2014)—Award-winning jazz pianist Justin Kauflin mastered Dedication, his sophomore album and his first for Quincy Jones’ Qwest Records and Jazz Village label, at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.
Grundman, whose mastering relationship goes back decades with Jones, has prepared Dedication for release on January 13, 2015. The new album, produced by Jones, includes 12 original compositions by Kauflin. The Justin Kauflin Quartet features Justin Kauflin, piano, keyboards; Billy Williams, drums; Christopher Smith, bass; and Matt Stevens, guitar. Etan Hziza, nylon guitar, is guest artist on the final track.
Kauflin, born in 1986, was a child prodigy classically trained in violin and piano. By the age of six, he began performing in concerts, nursing homes and weddings, eventually becoming concertmaster for several orchestras. It was during this time that he also endured numerous trials, particularly losing total vision by age 11. Kauflin adjusted by learning Braille and cane mobility, and switching to jazz piano at the Governor’s School for Performing Arts in Virginia.
Kauflin received top honors in jazz festivals across the U.S. and began performing jazz professionally by age 15. In 2004, Kauflin graduated, alongside his sighted peers, in the top one percent at Salem High School with an Advanced Academic diploma and Valedictorian at the Governor’s School for the Arts. He received a Presidential scholarship to attend William Paterson University in New Jersey where he was taken under the wings of Clark Terry, winner of 2010’s Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, and played in the Clark Terry Ensemble.
Kauflin was selected as semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk competition in 2011, voted Jazz Artist of the Year in VEER Magazine and added to Quincy Jones’ artist roster. Kauflin is fresh off Quincy Jones’ world tour, which performed in Montreux, Switzerland; Vienne, France; Seoul, Korea; Tokyo and Hiroshima, Japan.
Bernie Grundman Mastering
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