Julius Rodriguez

A gifted pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Julius Rodriguez combines his jazz-trained chops with his passion for R&B, gospel, and hip-hop. He initially grabbed audiences’ attention touring with A$AP Rocky and working on projects with Kassa Overall, Meshell Ndegeocello, Brasstracks, and others. In 2022, he made his solo debut for Verve Records with Let Sound Tell All.
Born in 1998, Rodriguez grew up in White Plains, New York, in a family of Haitian descent. He started taking piano lessons at age three and was exposed to jazz by his father, who introduced him to artists like John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Duke Ellington. He also gained valuable early performance experience at church, where he played drums, keyboards, and the organ. As a teenager, Rodriguez further honed his skills as a student at the Manhattan School of Music’s precollege division, as well as stints at the Berklee College of Music’s summer program and the YoungArts Foundation. After high school, he enrolled at The Juilliard School, where he studied piano with Jeremy Manasia. While still in college, he had the opportunity to play with luminaries like Roy Hargrove and Wynton Marsalis. Rodriguez also began broadening his taste, listening to artists like Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, and Solange, as well as working with singer/songwriters and playing with Isaiah Barr’s experimental Onyx Collective.
It was while playing with Barr that Rodriguez caught the attention of A$AP Rocky, and in 2018 he left Juilliard to tour with the rapper. More work followed, including gigs with Meshell Ndegeocello, Brasstracks, Carmen Lundy, Kassa Overall, Keyon Harrold, and others. In 2022, he brought all of his varied influences to bear on Let Sound Tell All, his stylistically expansive solo debut for Verve Records. ~ Matt Collar