My Story

Jake Shapiro is an accomplished pianist who has been playing and performing since the age of 7. A native of Chicago, he has studied with Laura Hoffman and Jim Trompeter, two of the city's premier pianists. Jake moved to Miami, where he received his Bachlor's, Master's, and Doctoral Degrees in Jazz Piano Performance from the University of Miami’s prestigious Frost School of Music. While there, Jake studied with jazz greats such as Shelly Berg, Martin Bejerano, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and worked with legends like John Daversa, Brian Lynch, Danilo Perez, Rufus Reid, Ed Calle, Dave Holland, Maria Schneider, Donny McCaslin, Jo Lawry, Ingred Jensen, Sheila Jordan, and Terrence Blanchard.  

While working on his DMA, Jake was the Teaching Assistant for Martin Bejerano, where he led student ensembles and taught improvisation, composition, and group piano classes. His doctoral research culminated in a dissertation titled, “​​‘Success’ and the Jazz Musician: An Examination of Five College Music Entrepreneurship Courses Offered to Undergraduate Jazz Students,” advocating for music entrepreneurship education reform within college jazz programs. 

Jake was a Semi-Finalist in the 2018 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition and a Finalist in the 2019 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition (formerly the Great American Jazz Piano Competition). He has been fortunate enough to perform on the Jazz Cruise, at incredible festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and at jazz clubs like Blues Alley, the Jazz Showcase, and Andy’s Jazz Club. 

Jake is lucky to be able to play with some of his closest friends. Since 2016, Jake regularly performs with Danielle Wertz and as a part of the Dan Montgomery Quintet. Be on the lookout for his upcoming shows and projects. Sign up to his mailing list to find out where you can see him next.