Joe Block

Joe Block is a Steinway Artist and pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and musical director from Philadelphia, PA. Classically trained from the age of two, he later discovered a deep passion for jazz and went on to study at Columbia University and The Juilliard School. Now based in New York City, Block has quickly become one of the most sought-after musicians of his generation, performing and touring internationally with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gary Bartz, and Leslie Odom, Jr. His work has taken him to many of the world’s most revered stages, among them Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, Lincoln Center, and the Apollo Theater. Recognized by Jazz at Lincoln Center as one of “jazz’s most promising young composers,” Block is the recipient of the 2024 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award and was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition. He leads his own ensembles—the Open Heart Trio and the Joe Block Quintet—dedicated to presenting his original compositions, and is a frequent musical director for projects at Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 2025, Block served as associate musical director and pianist for George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway, and most recently as musical director for Ornada, the cutting-edge Armada Skis feature film with a live original score. He has taught over 30 students, continuing the mentorship tradition that shaped his Philadelphia upbringing.