Jamaal Baptiste is a pianist, composer, arranger, and ethnomusicologist. He holds a BM and MM in jazz studies from the Indiana University (IU) Jacobs School of Music, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from IU. Baptiste is an Assistant Professor of Jazz at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California.
Born and raised in San Nicolas, Aruba, he was exposed early on to the island’s diverse communities and became comfortable performing in a wide range of musical settings, with experience in jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, Caribbean, Brazilian, and other Latin American music. In 2010, Baptiste relocated to the United States to attend IU, where he studied with renowned music educators David Baker, Pat Harbison, and pianist Luke Gillespie. In 2013, he was a jazz fellow at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, studying under the tutelage of Baker, Curtis Fuller, Nathan Davis, and Rufus Reid. Baptiste has been featured as a guest artist and clinician at various colleges, festivals, and clubs throughout the United States, as well as in Aruba, Austria, and South Africa.
Baptiste has collaborated with esteemed practitioners of Caribbean and Latin American popular music in the United States and has contributed to several albums by Grammy-nominated artists Michael Spiro and Wayne Wallace. He recorded on their album Canto América (2017), which was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album. Prominent artists with whom Baptiste has performed include Gary Bartz, Avery G. Sharpe, Ronnie Burrage, Greg Osby, Carol Sudhalter, Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds, Dave Stryker, Steve Houghton, Ed Saindon, Jamey Aebersold, and Rob Dixon.
Baptiste is an original member of the Batuquê Trio with drummer Andy Smith and bassist Natalie Boeyink. With this trio, he recorded the album Transparency (2015). He is also a co-founder of the NelBap Duo with saxophonist and clarinetist Ana Nelson and a member of Carlos Bislip’s Aruban Jazz Collective.
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Latin Styles for Jazz Rhythm Section
Saturday, January 10, 2026
5:00 PM - 5:50 PM CST
