John Cervantes

Category: Projects

  • LNOP 2025

    LNOP 2025

    In rehearsal with the BBCSO
    In rehearsal at the Royal Albert Hall
    Pianists of the Last Night of the Proms 2025
    Backstage with Alison Balsom

    In September 2025, John performed at the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and soloist Alison Balsom—broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Radio 3.

    “Bursting with energy and packed with fiendish syncopations, the players let loose in what sounds like a freewheeling improvised jam but is actually an extraordinarily intricate and carefully written-out virtuosic showcase.”

    Programme note by Sophie Redfern

    “A particularly impressive rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s Riffs which brought some jazz into the show and gave Balsom another chance to shine.”

    Broadway World

  • Solo Piano

    Solo Piano

    Here’s a video from 2015 of me improvising on Chick Corea’s Eternal Child (accompanied by handclaps and cajon):

    Here’s a video from 2012 of me playing Big Band Sounds by Nikolai Kapustin:

  • sextet

    sextet

    I arranged On A Clear Day (Lane/Lerner) for three horns + rhythm section for Katie Birtill’s Something’s Coming EP released in Jan 2020.

  • Piano Trio

    Piano Trio

    The John Cervantes Trio features bassist Adam King—known for his work with Stan Tracey and Peter King—and drummer Dave Tandy, whose credits include the BBC Big Band and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra. The trio’s repertoire spans original compositions and jazz standards, drawing on the piano trio tradition of Oscar Peterson, Mulgrew Miller, and Kenny Barron.

    Make Your Mind Up (an original composition by John Cervantes)

    Recent performances include 606 Club in London.

    Dear Old Stockholm (traditional)