Episode 32: Esteban Castro

Esteban Castro is a 20 year old pianist and composer who is on his way to becoming one of America’s most accomplished jazz artists. He is a finalist for the American Pianists Awards (APA) competition, hosted here in Indianapolis, and I had the chance to interview him the day before his Premiere Series jazz trio concert at the Jazz Kitchen! Esteban attends the Juilliard School on a full-tuition scholarship, studying with Ted Rosenthal, and he also studies privately with Fred Hersch. At age thirteen, Esteban was the First Prize Winner in the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition in 2016, making him the youngest ever to receive this prestigious award. At fourteen, he was the youngest First Prize recipient at the 2017 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition.With over forty compositions to his name, Esteban has garnered three ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards and has won fifteen Downbeat Student Music Awards. He was selected as a pianist for the Grammy Band in 2017 and 2018, as a 2019 YoungArts Finalist, and as a member of the 2019 Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. In addition, Esteban has won a variety of classical piano competitions(!). Esteban has played to sold-out audiences in venues such as The Blue Note, The Montreux Jazz Club, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Dizzy's Club, and at a number of international venues. I was honored to get the chance to speak with Esteban, to hear about his life in music, his approach to improvisation and composition, and what winning the APA jazz competition would mean to him. I was inspired by the conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.