Nashville-born pianist and composer Tyler Bullock is performing at the 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival this week as one of two inaugural recipients of the Larry J. Bell Young Jazz Artist Award. He speaks with WMUK host Cara Lieurance about his upcoming noon concert on Wednesday, May 6 at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, where he'll perform with his trio — drummer Koleby Royston and bassist Ryoma Takenaga.
Bullock and his bandmates have roots going back to 2021, when all three were selected for Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra Jazz program. He grew up in Nashville while Royston and Takenaga hail from New Jersey. The three have played together regularly since then, and Bullock says Wednesday's show will be "a special moment to kind of show everything that I-slash-we've been developing."
The set will include original compositions, among them a piece called "Simple Prayers." Bullock describes its arc as a kind of musical longing that intensifies over time — "like going from a state of, I don't want to say hopelessness, but it's like building this intensity of hope you could say over the course of the tune." The trio will also play "Dangerous," which Bullock calls "a musical representation of facing your fears" — the feeling of confronting something frightening head-on with exhilaration rather than retreat.
Bullock says he's also eager to absorb the festival's broader talent. He calls fellow honoree Sullivan Fortner, the first recipient of the Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award, one of his heroes, saying time spent with Fortner "gives me knowledge that will last me for years."
Tickets are available at thegilmore.org.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
