Cecilia Coleman

Biography

Cecilia Coleman is an accomplished pianist, composer, and bandleader known for her distinctive and varied pieces that reflect the evolution of jazz. A native of Long Beach, California, she began playing piano at age five and started her jazz piano studies at age fifteen. Her early instruction included jazz piano with vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake, arranging with Tom Kubis, and classical studies with Dr. Allan Giles, culminating in a BM in Commercial Music from CSU Long Beach.

Coleman has led her own groups since 1990, including a trio and a quintet that recorded three albums: Words of Wisdom, Young and Foolish, and Home. Her quintet performed at notable events like the Monterey and Telluride Jazz Festivals. In 1998, she relocated to New York, where she works as a sideman, accompanist, and leader. In 2010, she became a big band leader, recording her debut album, Oh Boy!, with the 18-piece Cecilia Coleman Big Band, which has been cited as a “rising star” in the big band category by the Down Beat Critic's Poll. She currently serves as a Jazz Piano instructor at Lehigh University and leads the Monday Jazz Ensemble .She remains active as a sideman on recordings and concerts in the NYC area. 

Coleman has had the privilege of working with many great jazz artists in both NYC and Los Angeles as well as tours in UK, Avignon, France and Madrid, Spain .She can be heard on recordings of the following : Mark Masters Ensembles ,Bassist Henry Franklin,  Saxophonist Benn Clatworthy,Meredith D’Ambrosio, Ron Aprea, Ronnie Whyte, Bill Warfield and the Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra. She has performed with Jack Sheldon, Eddie Harris, Benn Clatworthy, Henry Franklin, Dewey Redman, Lee Konitz, Mark Masters,Don Sickler, Holly Hoffman, Ali Ryerson,Curtis Fuller, and so many other  wonderful musicians.