Julian Waterfall Pollack

Raised in Berkeley, California, Pollack was introduced to music through his parents, Susan Waterfall (an accomplished concert pianist), and Allan Pollack (a conductor, saxophonist, and music professor at University of California, Berkeley).[3][4] He began formal study of the piano at age of five with his mother, and was called a child prodigy, able to play difficult pieces of classical music well beyond his years. He attended The Crowden School in Berkeley, California, for his middle school years, where he received training in orchestral playing, chamber music, harmony, and counterpoint, as well as a courses in the liberal arts.[1]

He later attended Berkeley High School where he developed his love for jazz, playing as principal pianist for four years in their award-winning jazz ensemble. He released his debut jazz trio album, Goin' for It, to much critical acclaim in the San Francisco Bay Area and achieved national recognition by being featured on Jazziz magazine's monthly CD.[5]

After completing high schooling in 2006, he was offered a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music, but opted to instead attend New York University in New York City.[1]

In 2007, he appeared as a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio show aired on NPR.[6] He released his second trio album, Infinite Playground, to great critical acclaim in 2010. The album featured bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Evan Hughes.[7] The album showcased Pollack's growing interest in blending multiple genres with jazz improvisation and classical composition. It included Pollack's original pieces with "My Funny Valentine" by Rodgers and Hart, "Cherokee" by Ray Noble, and "And I Love Her" by the Beatles.[7] He continued this trajectory with the trio's 2013 album, Waves of Albion, which included a polyrhythmic arrangement of "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab for Cutie, "Flume" by Bon Iver, and the American folk song "Oh Shenandoah".[8]

Pollack composed a three movement piano concerto in 2012. It was premiered by the Camellia Symphony in Sacramento. The work's style and form drew heavily from jazz, minimalism, and French impressionism.[3]

In 2013, Pollack composed "Brooklyn Boomerang", a piece for two pianos which premiered at the Greenwich House in Manhattan in November by Pollack and acclaimed pianist Natalie Tenenbaum.[9] He also completed a string quartet that was commissioned by the Telluride Chamber Music Festival and the Ives String Quartet.[10][11]

Pollack premiered a new composition for orchestra, entitled Night Flower at the 2014 Mendocino Music Festival.[12]

In 2019, Julian (as J3PO) released his album Small Plates, a collection of 12 tracks that range from simple lo-fi beats to complex jazztronica future house joints. Inspired by analog synths and sample-based music, the album fuses Julian's love for today's contemporary production styles with a nod to the jazz tradition and the spontaneity of live music and improvisation.[13]