A New York Evening With Julius Rodriguez
Black History Month 2025
•
45m
The GRAMMY Museum was thrilled to present an intimate conversation with GRAMMY Award-winning artist Julius Rodriguez followed by a performance at The Greene Space in NYC. The conversation, moderated by Angelika Beener, included a discussion about the making of his 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.”
Up Next in Black History Month 2025
-
Spotlight: Ambré
"The GRAMMY Museum welcomed GRAMMY award-winning self-taught musician, producer, and writer Ambré for an intimate conversation and performance in the Museum’s 200-seat Clive Davis Theater. The conversation discussed her project who’s loving you?, her career, creative process, and more.
Ambré’s ...
-
A New York Evening with Tierra Whack
The GRAMMY Museum welcomed GRAMMY Award-nominated artist Tierra Whack to National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY celebrating her debut project, Whack World, with a discussion about her creative process behind the release, her career, and more.
Tierra Whack is one of the many artists to be featured in ... -
A Conversation With Don Toliver
The GRAMMY Museum welcomed Don Toliver and Sickamore to the Museum’s intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater for an evening of discussion about Don Toliver’s album, HARDSTONE PSYCHO, their collaboration, careers, and creative process. The conversation was moderated by R&B Icon and 13 time GRAMMY No...