[ARCHIVE] Beka Goshiasvili Trio – March 25

Dolan’s Warehouse, 8pm

Admission €15

“Beka Gochiashvili is a brilliant young piano prodigy. You’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the next few years” – Chick Corea, 2010

Line-Up: Beka Gochiashvili – Piano, Marty Jaffe – Bass, Jimmy McBride – Drums

The young Georgian sensational pianist Beka Gochiashvili will be appearing in Ireland during March to play three very special concerts in Limerick, Galway and Dublin.

Destined to be one of the future superstars of Jazz, Beka has compiled an impressive CV and has already played with some of the legendary artists of Jazz of the last 40 years. As Lenny White put’s it “He is an Old Soul in a new body”. His talent was spotted at an early age and when he was 13 Beka participated in the prestigious Bösendorfer Solo Jazz Piano competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he was awarded 1st prize. He is the youngest recipient of this highly acclaimed annual festival. Now at the age of 18 he is an established member of the Stanley Clarke Band and has toured extensively with the Jazz master over the last year. In between he has recorded 2 albums and appeared on stage with a host of Jazz icons including Chick Corea, Lionel Leouke, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Ravi Coltrane, Christian McBride, Wallace Rooney.

There is no doubt that Beka will be one of not the most exciting things to happen to the Irish Jazz scene this year. His impressive feel and understanding of the music combined with incredible technique and a raw energy in his playing style will make this series of concerts unmissable.

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia on March 11, 1996 Beka at age 4 watched Standards II by Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette – the video triggered his devotion and passion for this sophisticated trio and their performance style. In 2002 Valeri, his father, enrolled Beka in classical music classes at a school headed by Tengiz Chitaishvili. By age nine, Beka began jazz studies under the direction of Zurab Ramishvili. A year later, he was already playing at various jazz clubs in Tbilisi. In 2007, Beka participated in Saulkrasti Jazz Festival in Latvia, where his performance skills were highly assessed by Lenny White and Victor Bailey.

In 2008, at the US Embassy in Tbilisi Beka performed at two State Sponsored Functions with Dan Tepfer and Joel Harrison. Also present at the functions was Condolezza Rice.

“Beka is one of the best jazz pianists I’ve heard anywhere,” said Condoleezza, then Secretary of State and an accomplished pianist herself.

By the efforts of Ms. Rice, Mr. Harrison and John Teft, former US Ambassador in Georgia, Beka auditioned at the Juilliard School and at the Manhattan School of Music in 2008 and he was accepted in both schools.

Beka has been living and studying in New York for several years fully immersing himself in the rich Jazz heritage and performing in the world renown clubs on his doorstep. At the age of 14 he was appearing in Birdland in his own lead trios while still making return visits to Europe to participate in The Black Sea Jazz Festival, The Vienna Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. At 15 he was playing in Birdland, NYC with Buster Williams and Lenny Write. When Beka was 16 he played along side Chick Corea as a special guest when Corea was playing in the Tbilisi Jazz Festival. Beka first appeared with the lineup for his Irish Dates in 2013 when they played a concert in The Blue Note, NYC. Later that year Chick Corea presented Beka in a “Musicians of the Future” Gala where he performed with John Patitucci, Marcus Gilmore, Wallace Rooney, Ravi Coltrane and Chick of course. During 2014 he continued to appear as leader of his own trios and played The Bristol Jazz Festival, The Blue Note Jazz Festival and The Sardinian Cultural Festival as well as a full touring schedule in Europe and North America with The Stanley Clarke Band.

In 2014 he graduated from the Juilliard School. His private jazz piano tutors are Fred Hersch and Danilo Perez. Victoria Mushkatkol teaches Beka classical piano.