United States
USA, 1987
Eli Wallace is a pianist, composer, and curator. Since his arrival in 2015 from Oakland, CA, he has become an active part of New York’s musical and creative scene, constantly seeking out other improvisers with similar inclinations, such as Daniel Carter, Ingrid Laubrock, Michael Foster, Billy Mintz, Andrew Smiley, Sandy Ewen, Carlo Costa, Sean Ali, Brandon Lopez, Erika Dicker, Joe Moffett, and many others. He is also the co-curator, alongside Drew Wesely, of the music and art installation series Invocation.
In 2020, he released several digital albums. Craig M. (Memory Select: Journeys in Creative Music) described his collaborative release with Ben Cohen, Evaporation, as “satisfying and stimulating.” In 2019, he released his first solo album, Barriers, which Daev Tremblay (Can This Even Be Called Music?) called “fascinating and a great album.” His project Slideshow Junky uses a series of short pieces as tools for improvisation and collaboration. He is also part of the collective trio Cataclysmic Commentary, whose debut album Audible Participation was included in several “Best Album of 2018” lists. In addition, he is one half of the duo Dialectical Imagination with Rob Pumpelly, whose third album was released by Leo Records.
His work as a pianist demonstrates his broad range of experience across jazz, classical music, and free improvisation, while incorporating contemporary piano techniques to create a sound uniquely his own. His compositions use different instruments to evoke distinct sounds, ideas, and connections among musicians in relation to their own methods of producing music. He has composed works ranging from solo piano pieces to full orchestral scores and has received commissions from Contra Costa College JazzaNova, Lawrence University (Appleton, WI), and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA.
