Cellar Dog Exclusives - Joe Block

There Is Always Hope: Album Release Show Our next Cellar Dog Exclusives concert features Steinway Artist and award-winning pianist - JOE BLOCK. Joe recently released his debut album as a bandleader There is Always Hope on Blue Engine Records. It features an entirely original collection of compositions performed by his quintet. Joe will embark on a tour in support of the album in October and will make a stop here at Cellar Dog. Doors open at 7pm and the show will start promptly at 8pm. We hope you join us for this very special and exclusive performance. Accompanying Joe will be: Noah Halpern (Trumpet) Chris Lewis (Saxophone) Sam Harris (Bass) Miguel Russell (Drums) *There will be a (2) two item purchase minimum for seated guests. Extended Bio Joe Block is a Steinway Artist and award-winning pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and musical director based in New York City. He performs regularly with Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Gary Bartz, and has appeared at the world’s leading venues including Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, and Lincoln Center. Recognized by Jazz at Lincoln Center as one of “jazz’s most promising young composers”, Block received the 2024 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition, and most recently was selected as a finalist for the 2027 American Pianists Awards. Block served as associate musical director and pianist for George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway. He has also served as guest musical director for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, guest conductor for the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra and Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and musical director for The Voice of Miles: A Symphonic Celebration presented by Summerstage. He also served as musical director for Ornada, an award-winning Armada Skis feature film presented with a live original score. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Block began classical piano studies at the age of two before discovering a deep passion for jazz through the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts and the Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program, immersed in the city’s rich musical community. He later graduated from the Columbia–Juilliard dual-degree program (BA ’21, MM ’22), where he studied with Geoffrey Keezer, Marc Cary, Ted Rosenthal, and Frank Kimbrough. He leads his own ensembles, the Open Heart Trio and the Joe Block Quintet, dedicated to performing his original music, and has taught over 30 students, continuing the tradition of mentorship that shaped his upbringing in Philadelphia. Block has released three albums as a leader: Love Shadows, a collaboration with vocalist Shabnam Abedi; Solo Piano, Vol. 1; and There is Always Hope, released on Blue Engine Records in September 2026. Featuring twelve original compositions, There is Always Hope marks his debut small-group recording centered on his own compositions and longtime band.