AUSTIN PERALTA
Born on October 25, 1990, Austin Peralta began his musical journey at age six with a deep passion for classical music. At 10, while studying classical piano at Pepperdine University, he developed an interest in jazz and since then has been fortunate to study one on one with noted jazz mentors, Alan Pasqua, Buddy Collette, Ralph Jones, and Kenny Cox. He accrues musical inspiration from John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Salman Rushdie, Love, Freddie Hubbard, Spirituality, Dwight Trible, Naguib Mahfouz and the Universe.
After self-producing his first indie cd entitled “Inta’ Out”, Austin was quickly signed by Sony/Village Records and recorded his debut album, “Maiden Voyage”, with Ron Carter on bass and Billy Kilson on drums at Avatar Studios in New York City in September of 2005 when he was 14 years old. He toured Japan to promote the release and was invited back to perform in the Tokyo Jazz Festival in 2006 where he performed a piano quartet with Chick Corea, Hank Jones and Hiromi Uehara at the Tokyo Forum. Austin went on to record his second cd, “Mantra” with Buster Williams on bass, Steve Nelson on vibes, and Marcus Strickland on sax. In addition to piano, Austin is also adept on the acoustic bass, soprano and alto saxophones, flutes, piccolo, and drums. He avidly composes original musical works for television and film.
At age 12, Austin was the recipient of the prestigious Shelly Mann New Talent Award sponsored by the Los Angeles Jazz Society and Flip Mann. After receiving the award, he performed in the Sweet & Hot Music Festival, the Tribute to Woody Herman Jazz Festival and at the Jazz Bakery with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra. Austin continues to perform with his own trio, quartet and sextet at locals such as Catalina’s and the Jazz Bakery in his home town of Los Angeles. He also performs with Adam Rudolph’s Go: Organic Orchestra on flutes and piccolo, performing alongside percussion master Big Black, woodwind guru Bennie Maupin, and spiritual vocalist Dwight Trible.
Austin has gained unusual attention and worldwide notoriety by performing at events such as The Playboy Jazz Festival (US), The Jazz Baltica Festival (Germany), The Tokyo Jazz Festival (Japan), The Ginza Jazz Festival (Japan) and the Java Jazz Festival (Indonesia). He will embark on another concert tour of Japan to promote “Mantra”.
Austin is not content to use his music simply to entertain, but rather to emphasize peace by creating unique musical experiences and often donates his musical talents to the fight against AIDS.