ABOUT JAMAAL J.C. BAPTISTE

Jamaal Baptiste is a pianist, composer, arranger, and ethnomusicologist. Born and raised in San Nicolas, Aruba, Baptiste began taking piano lessons at age eight and by age eleven was serving as a pianist for the Apostolic Pentecostal Church of Aruba in his hometown. Exposed to the island's diverse communities and musical expressions, he became comfortable performing in a wide range of musical settings with experience in Jazz, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Caribbean, Brazilian, and other Latin American musics.

In 2010, Baptiste relocated to the United States to attend Indiana University, where he studied with renowned music educator David Baker and pianist Luke Gillespie. In 2013, Baptiste was a jazz fellow at Ravina’s Steans Music Institute under the tutelage of Baker, Curtis Fuller, Nathan Davis, and Rufus Reid. Baptiste has been featured as a guest artist and clinician at various colleges, festivals, and clubs throughout the U.S., South Africa, Austria, and Aruba. 

Baptiste has performed and recorded on albums ¡Funklorico! (2012) and Ritmos Unidos (2014) with Latin jazz group Ritmos Unidos, a collaboration with percussionist Michael Spiro. Other notable artists with whom he has played include Gary Bartz, Avery G. Sharpe, Ronnie Burrage, Greg Osby, Carol Sudhalter, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, Wayne Wallace, Dave Stryker, Steve Houghton, Ed Saindon, Jamey Aebersold, and Rob Dixon.

​

Baptiste is an original member of the Batuquê Trio with drummer Andy Smith and bassist Natalie Boeyink. With this trio, he recorded the album Transparency (2015). He is also a co-founder of the NelBap Duo with saxophonist/clarinetist Ana Nelson and a member of Carlos Bislip’s Aruban Jazz Collective.

​

Baptiste holds a B.M. and M.M. degree in Jazz Studies from the Jacobs School of Music and an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Indiana University. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology.