Tuesday, November 17 @ 7:00 pm
58 W 129th Street, New York, NY 10027
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is proud to collaborate with The Jazz Gallery on its acclaimed Joyce Wein Mentor Series, an initiative that brings together established artists and emerging voices to foster artistic growth, experimentation, and creative exchange. This presentation features saxophonist/mentor Logan Richardson and pianist/mentee Esteban Castro, along with Harish Raghavan – bass, and Damion Reid – drums.
About TJG Joyce Wein Mentoring Series
Mentorship has always been a key theme in jazz history. Most of today’s great jazz musicians were raised through informal channels and gained invaluable experience working alongside their heroes. Future generations of great jazz will depend on the continuation of this community-minded mentoring tradition that is, unfortunately, becoming less common as jazz education has become more formalized in conservatory and university settings.
The Jazz Gallery developed its Mentorship Program to cultivate a group of senior-level jazz musicians as mentors and to provide aspiring musicians with the opportunity to learn the music and business of jazz under the guidance of their contemporary heroes.
These young musicians will have the opportunity to learn by preparing for and performing in 4 concerts that are booked as a mini-tour, which will provide mentees with the opportunity to deepen their creative practice and performance skills. This will also teach mentees more practical skills of being working artists—skills set that are not taught in conservatory classrooms.
Logan Richardson is a Kansas City-born alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader described by DownBeat as “one of the most gifted and transformative alto saxophonists of his generation.” Continuing Kansas City’s distinguished jazz tradition, Richardson began performing professionally at 16, working with Jay McShann and the Kansas City Symphony. Since moving to New York, he has collaborated with artists including Jason Moran, Stanley Cowell, Joe Chambers, Stefon Harris, Gerald Clayton, Nasheet Waits, and Pat Metheny. As a bandleader, Richardson has developed a deeply personal sound that moves fluidly between jazz, rock, soul, and experimental music. His recordings include the acclaimed Blue Note album Shift, blues PEOPLE, Afrofuturism, and a recent trilogy for WAX Industry: Holy Water, Sacred Garden, and The Science of Superstition.
Esteban Castro is a Brooklyn-based pianist and composer whose deeply personal approach to improvisation emphasizes expression, lyricism, and a wide range of musical influences. Born in Houston in 2002, Castro began playing piano at four and became the youngest-ever winner of both the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition and Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. They studied with Fred Hersch before attending The Juilliard School on a full scholarship, graduating in 2024. Castro has performed with artists including Ambrose Akinmusire, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Immanuel Wilkins, Billy Drummond, Bobby Watson, Marquis Hill, Wadada Leo Smith, and Walter Smith III, while leading their own projects in New York and internationally. A 2025 recipient of the Larry J. Bell Young Jazz Artist Award and 2023 American Piano Awards finalist, Castro is also a Young Steinway Artist.
About The Jazz Gallery
The Jazz Gallery serves as an international cultural center where the youngest generation of emerging professional jazz musicians are nurtured with opportunities to collaborate with their peers, discover and refine their creativity, and perform in front of eager audiences. We take pride in our world-renowned reputation as a key player in the NYC jazz community by sustaining a tradition of artistic excellence in jazz and fostering artistic growth, presenting both major and established figures in jazz alongside a younger generation of artists. Since 2002, The Gallery has also been actively engaged in commissioning new work by emerging composers, many of whom have gone on to be recognized with MacArthur Foundation “genius” grants, Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards, Grammy Awards and more. Twelve Thelonious Monk Competition winners got their start on our stage.
Winner of the 2016, 2014 & 2010 CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, The Jazz Gallery has garnered a reputation as “the most imaginatively booked jazz club in New York” (NY Times).
We are your go-to venue for off-site meetings, receptions, film screenings, workshops, networking events, socials and more. Located in the heart of Central Harlem’s thriving culinary and entertainment district, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is the perfect place to hold your next gathering.