GEORGE BURTON is an NAACP Image Award–nominated pianist, composer, producer, and bandleader whose work occupies the intersection of modern jazz, orchestral music, and contemporary experimentation. Hailed as “formidable” (NPR), “charismatic” (The New York Times), and “soulful” (Philadelphia Inquirer), Burton creates immersive musical worlds that fuse classical rigor, avant-garde inquiry, and deep jazz tradition.

As a performer and bandleader, Burton has built a wide-ranging career rooted in jazz and orchestral music, extending into electronic and avant-garde performance. His work has brought him into collaboration with artists and ensembles including James Carter, Shabaka Hutchings, Marquis Hill, the Sun Ra Arkestra, and the Philadelphia Pops, among many others.

Grounded in Philadelphia’s uncompromising musical culture and expanded through his work in New York, Brooklyn-based Burton’s artistic voice draws from classical training, improvisational depth, and a lifelong engagement with Black American music—prioritizing authorship, inquiry, and forward motion.

Burton has appeared as a bandleader and featured artist at major festivals, performing arts centers, and broadcast platforms including the Newport Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Kimmel Center, and NPR’s Jazz Night in America. Across these settings, he has developed a live aesthetic defined by kinetic energy, emotional immediacy, and adventurous direction. Whether leading ensembles or presenting intimate solo work, his performances emphasize presence, risk, and deep audience connection.

His recorded output reflects a continual expansion of form. The Truth Of What I Am > The Narcissist (2016) and Reciprocity (2020) were widely praised for their conceptual ambition, with Reciprocity earning a nomination for Outstanding Instrumental Jazz Album at the 2021 NAACP Image Awards. His third release, The Yule Log (2023), offered an unexpected reimagining of the holiday album, praised as a “stunning package of musical surprises” (LA Jazz Scene) and a “sensational spin on a traditional winter jazz album” (33third.org), blending classical textures with a striking string trio.

Burton’s most recent project, White Noise, marks a bold evolution in both sound and scope. Traversing electronic music, Xhosa rhythms, hip-hop, singer-songwriter traditions, and jazz improvisation, the album features collaborations with South African vocalist Siya Makuzeni, Detroit hip-hop duo The Black Opera, and poet Dante Clark. Built from modular synths, keyboards, and acoustic instruments, White Noise functions as both musical statement and social document—an exploration of resistance, identity, and collective transformation.

Beyond performance and recording, Burton is an accomplished composer and educator. He recently served as composer-in-residence for Choral Chameleon, premiering multiple works including Día de los Muertos and Grandpa’s Face, and has appeared as a guest soloist with the Philly Pops and other large ensembles. A Yamaha Piano Artist, he regularly leads workshops, residencies, and interdisciplinary projects exploring the intersection of culture, technology, and sound.

George Burton approaches music not as a genre but as a system of relationships—between sound, history, technology, and community. Moving fluidly between jazz, electronic, and orchestral contexts, his work honors lineage while actively expanding the expressive possibilities of contemporary performance.

George Burton Quintet at Newport Jazz Festival

Guest soloist for an entire evening with the Philadelphia Pops.

Bachrach Photography

Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola Robert Birnbach Photography