JFB: Julius Rodriguez

Julius Rodriguez showed undoubted musical talent from his early New York childhood and began playing the piano, which remains his main instrument to this day, at the age of just four. He soon became a student at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and later at the equally renowned The Juilliard School, where he perfected both jazz and classical playing techniques, which determined him not to limit himself to just one or the other, so to speak. In addition, his loves included other genres, especially gospel and hip hop, which further enriched his eclectic approach to creation. As a teenager, he became a sought-after backing musician on the New York scene, playing alongside such names as Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove.