“Alterman attributes his connection with the past to his love of history, his need to research jazz lineages and track the twists and turns of an artist’s career. When he was first becoming a jazz player, in high school in Atlanta, he indeed thought all of it was history. He got to New York and realized that the artists he listened to on recordings were still making music and he could learn directly from them.

Instead of performing a history lesson for the audience, Alterman simply strove to evoke an emotion. His approach became “this music makes me feel good, I bet it could make you feel good, too.” He added, “So it wasn’t really looking back on the past as much as it was connecting with the past and wanting to share that with the present.”

-JON ROSS

“The 21st century has brought another transition for this thing called jazz; in one moment we see the push and pull between tradition and progression, and in another we see Pop and Hip-Hop musicians emulating and sampling. In Joe Alterman we find none of this struggle; the music just sounds good.”

praise for joe

“Having known Joe Alterman on a personal level, I can attest to the fact that he is a very special artist.”

-AHMAD JAMAL

“Joe is tiny, but only in stature. As a man and a musician he is already a giant. He’s on a ‘blow your mind’ level.”

-LES MCCANN

“Joe Alterman is a breath of fresh air on the music scene. I love hearing him play! It’s happy music with tasty meat on the bones! Although much younger than I, he is an inspiration to me! His piano playing, his will to explore and his ability to swing is a joy to behold.”

-RAMSEY LEWIS

remembering les mccann