"Glenn Zaleski has a sound," writes Becca Pulliam for NPR. "I heard bells ring when he played." His pianism displays "a perfect balance of excitement and coherence," according to JazzTimes.Born and raised in Bolyston, MA, Glenn began taking piano lessons at age seven. His elementary school had a jazz band, and it wasn't long before the young pianist graduated to performing around the city. He shared many of these early musical experiences with his older brother Mark, a Boston-based saxophonist. Both Glenn and Mark were selected to attend the Brubeck Institute in California; afterwards, Glenn made the move to New York to finish his undergraduate studies at the New School.Glenn maintains an active performance schedule as a sideperson, and has worked with Ravi Coltrane, Ari Hoenig, Lage Lund, Ben van Gelder, and Maria Neckam during his time in New York. His piano playing has been recognized by some of jazz's leading competitions, including the 2011 APA Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz, in which Glenn was a finalist, and the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, in which he reached the semi-finals. He also co-leads the trio Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato, which also features the bassist Rick Rosato and the drummer Colin Stranahan. The band's first release, Anticipation (Capri), was praised as "an estimable album" with "meticulously flowing sound" by The New York Times.Glenn has performed at The Jazz Gallery as a sideperson on several occasions, and we are pleased to present his group for the first time on our stage this Thursday as a part of our debut series. The band features the trumpeter Mat Jodrell, the saxophonist Lucas Pino, the bassist Desmond White, and the drummer Cory Cox. Glenn speaks:

The band playing next week was put together specifically for this date at The Gallery. It's a combination of some of my favorite musicians around, and we'll be playing some new music, as well as some older and more familiar music, that will allow each of us to stretch out and have a good time.Lucas, Cory and I met in high school, went to the Brubeck Institute, and then moved to New York together to go to the New School. To be playing together again at The Gallery feels kind of like a family reunion, so to celebrate we'll be revisiting some of the material that we played together as teenagers. I met Desmond and Mat here in New York. We play together in Lucas Pino's "No Net" Nonet, and playing with them has always been exciting and inspiring for me. Basically this quintet is a blast to play with!

Listen to Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato's version of "All The Things You Are."