“I’m obsessed with the texture of sound,” he says, “and interested in minimal forms, with how to say things as simply as possible, how to distil things into their primal form.” It’s an approach that’s served him well, whether in his own solo work or in collaborative projects across media as diverse as theatre, dance, television and cinema.
Juan Jaen, Andalusian composer and pianist, discovered his natural talent for the piano at the early age of nine.
His teachers quickly realised he could play anything he could hear. He had perfect pitch: an extremely rare capacity.
Jaen grew up in a very rich and varied musical environment. He received a solid classical training while absorbing a broad variety of musical styles in his early musical career.
During intense study of Bach, Chopin and Debussy, he would devour recordings of almost every kind of existing music (jazz, blues, rock, contemporary, electronic, minimal, soundtracks, ethnic music from practically every country in the world…) which perhaps sowed the seeds of his eclecticism as well as his eternal flight from the established genres.
Immediately after completing his studies at the Conservatory in Spain, Jaen moved to Italy and spent eight years living in the ancient city of Florence, where his idiosyncratic piano skills were developed.
The romantic beauty of this historically significant centre of musical and artistic excellence, the city’s elegance and cultural depth quickly permeated Jaen’s music.
He undertook a further and thorough research process on pianistic improvisation, advanced harmony, and piano interpretation with Alessandro Galati and Danilo Rea. He began to immerse himself in the styles of pianists from previous generations as well as the music of contemporary composers, before forging his own musical path through composition.
He started scoring for film, tv series, theatre, dance and commercials (Vodafone, Red Bull, Sony-Ericsson, Discovery Channel…), experimenting with a great variety of styles and formations and developing a solid experience as a composer, performer and producer.
He began to obtain several international awards in recognition of his work, among which are: The Honor Award on soundtracks composition “Mario Nascimbene” and the international award of composition “Anima Mundi”, whose jury was chaired by Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
During this time Jaen was also inspired by his contact with Pierre Boulez at the Royal Academy of Music as well as his association with his composition teacher at the Accademia Chigiana and mentor, the oscar winning composer Luis Bacalov.
In 2017, his musical journey took a momentous step with the release of his stunning solo debut album “Piano 2.0”: A collection of beautifully structured, exquisite original solo piano pieces displaying Jaen’s natural touch and mesmerizing sensibility.
His unconventional approach to an age-old instrument, played contemplatively and intimately, as well as a breath-taking level of emotion and personality, soon have won him some unconditional fans around the world.
Delicate, emotive, dreamy, soulful, ethereal, lush and, tellingly, passionate, are just some of the adjectives regularly used in appreciation of his sonic palette.
The release was also warmly received by the international pianist community who quickly started to demand sheet music for the album.
At this point, Jaen has become a singularly serene presence in a world full of noise.
His extremely refined piano technique and his emotional authenticity provide welcome moments of eloquent stillness and the way his evocative and cinematic atmospheres cross over all genres to reach all audiences is being met with international critical acclaim.
Jaen is currently preparing for the release of his next piano album, scheduled for summer 2019.
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