A New York Evening With Julius Rodriguez

The GRAMMY Museum is thrilled to present an intimate conversation with Julius Rodriguez followed by a performance at The Greene Space in NYC. The conversation, moderated by Angelika Beener, will include a discussion about the making of his latest project, Evergreen, his creative process, career, and more.

Julius Rodriguez is one of the many artists to be featured in the GRAMMY Museum’s New York City program series, which includes bringing a slate of the GRAMMY Museum’s renowned GRAMMY In The Schools Education Programs and Public Programs to the East Coast. “A New York Evening With…” is generously supported by the Dawn and Brian Hoesterey Family Foundation.

ABOUT JULIUS RODRIGUEZ

You can find Julius Rodriguez in many places. You could walk into a packed jazz haunt and bear witness to him behind the piano with energy practically surging from his fingers through the room. You might scroll up on social media and catch him alternating from drums to bass to guitar at the speed of a jump cut. You may also step onto festival grounds and see him on stage either solo or accompanying another likeminded visionary, jamming like his life depends on it. No matter where, the New York-born and Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer electrifies any lane. By doing so, he also transcends perceived boundaries between genres and styles, redefining the music to mirror his own fluid creative inclinations and delivering a sound that’s solely his alone.

He’s honed that voice since his childhood in New York where he participated in his first late-night downtown jam session at barely eleven-years-old. Sharpening his skills with thousands of hours and hundreds of gigs, he established himself as a highly sought-after collaborator—whether on piano, drums, synths, or bass. You could hear him loud and clear on recordings by the likes of Carmen Lundy, Lackecia Benjamin, Brasstracks, Kassa Overall, Baby Rose, Joe Farnsworth, Cautious Clay, Ian Isiah, and Braxton Cook.Moreover, he has shined on stage with the late Roy Hargrove, Remi Wolf, Dev Hynes, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Macy Gray, Kurt Elling, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Morgan James, and Cautious Clay, to name a few. He even lent his talents to Meshell Ndegeocello’s The Omnichord Real Book—which garnered the first-ever GRAMMY®Award in the category of “Best Alternative Jazz Album.”

ABOUT EVERGREEN

Rodriguez, who relocated to Los Angeles from his hometown of New York City in 2022, made Evergreen in LA with producer Tim Anderson, whose previous credits include work with Solange, Halsey, and Billie Eilish. Evergreen is composed of new original works from Rodriguez along with a standout cover of Dijon’s “Many Times.” The album also includes features from Keyon Harrold, Nate Mercereau, and Georgia Anne Muldrow.

Says Julius: “This album for me embodies the meaning of ‘Evergreen.’ With the differing worlds that are presented by each track, I still aim to be fully honestly myself in my expression–maintaining my voice in any variation of musical climate. With this, I hope to carry on the importance of prioritizing the music itself, rather than letting a genre or label create a preconceived connotation of the music. The genre is me.”

Out now is “Mission Statement,” the dynamic track that kicks off Evergreen. Steady handclaps set the track in motion as a spacey loop swims around a slick bass line. Cymbals chatter through vibrant piano, and a saxophone solo sails off towards the horizon. Watch the video for the single HERE.