Hi everyone,

I hope this awesome transition into Spring is treating you all well. The last few weeks have been pretty fun as I've gotten to play many of my very favorite pianos in the world at places like Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Blue Note, Spectrum and the Kitano in a really short span! Some pretty beautiful instruments at those venues, and it's just the best to have an instrument that inspires nearly as much as the music you're playing and the people you're with! They were a fun string of shows to be sure.

A bit before that I did some release shows for the new record in Boston, LA, NYC etc. and that was so much fun. These guys just played the crap out of the music and brought the tunes to a new place each and every performance. It was such a joy to be a part of. I'll be doing some touring in Europe and Asia with that music later this year/early 2017 and I'll keep you posted about that.

I've also been very fortunate to record on a lot of interesting projects recently, with some great musicians, and many will be coming out sometime soon, I thought I'd give a little heads up here in case anyone wants to check them out as they get released:

Francisco Pais w/ Myron Walden, Godwin Louis, Ferenc Nemeth and Conor Schultze

Andrew Van Tassel w/ Ben Eunson, Colin Stranahan and Edward Perez

Hiromi Suda w/ Romero Lubambo, Anne Drummond, Keita Ogawa and Haggai Cohen-Milo

Pawel Ignatowitz w/ Ferenc Nemeth and Edward Perez

and Andrew Hadro's record we did in duo.

So keep an eye out for these!

Finally, as the record has been sent off into the world I've been lucky enough to receive some kind words as folks listen to it. Here are some highlights:

"Julian Shore shows deep maturity as a composer and bandleader on Which Way Now. [He] delivers a deeply felt program of 10 tracks that quietly and inquisitively explores the process of musical discovery. His search has unearthed a litany of musical gems... [of] elegant intensity and strength." Brian Zimmerman, Downbeat Magazine

"The record is resolutely pretty, yet Shore invests a degree of depth and unifying interplay that binds the stories together with a dazzling sense of rhythm and flow. His core band achieves a remarkable coherence... In full this is a luminous album from start to finish. ★★★★ 1/2" Nick Bewsey, ICON Magazine

“He's focused, articulate, passionate… Julian Shore has succeeded wildly. He shines on piano and wurlitzer -- showing off an extraordinary mellifluousness” Michael Greenblatt, Classicalite

“Shore’s Which Way Now? shows a talented pianist, but even more a conceptualist of some maturity and depth. The music here (mostly originals) is graphic in its arrangement and unfolding… a panorama for the listener to get lost in and one which, while it keeps its toe in the compositional water, also ventures in newly chartered waters.” Robert Rusch, Cadence Magazine

“His new release Which Way Now? is a series of gorgeous, jaw-dropping moments of jarring beauty… A symbiosis of grand majesty, quiet thoughtfulness and humble beauty… One remarkable, gorgeous recording.” Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm

So if you haven't picked up a copy yet, please do so and let me know what you think!

Oh also for my Japanese friends, I've recently signed with the great folks at Inpartmaint which will be releasing my record later this month over there, so you'll be able to pick it up in stores around Japan. I know how much of a pain (and expensive!) it can be to import CD's from here!

Thanks for checking in and having some interest in my musical life! I really appreciate it. Here's another photo of my cat, which is what I assume you actually came here for.

The latest, upcoming albums, and some more kind words