People often ask me if I have a favorite style of music to play. Truth be told, what I really enjoy is being able to jump around between genres that are entirely different from one another. The variety of my musical schedule keeps things sounding fresh to my ears, and that’s what excites me the most.
Whether he is playing pop music with platinum-selling recording artist Colbie Caillat, world/jazz music with electric bass virtuoso Richard Bona, house/dance music with internationally-renowned Tortured Soul or progressive jazz fusion with drum icon Virgil Donati, it is clear that NYC-based pianist/keyboardist Isamu McGregor’s versatility has helped him to become an extremely in-demand musician/MD around the globe. Described as “a pianist for the new generation” and a “jazz pianist and keyboard player of the first order”, Isamu leads or MD’s a number of projects while maintaining a busy performance schedule as a sideman.
Over the years, he has had the good fortune to perform with a “dizzying variety of collaborators”, including GZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Patti Austin, Bennie Maupin, Wayne Krantz, Chris Potter, Ari Hoenig, Keith Carlock, Lenny Pickett, Rain Pryor (Fried Chicken & Latkes), The Midtown Men, Seamus Blake, Larry Koonse, Carrie Manolakos, Marko Djordjevic and many more.