You’re Exaggerating! Paul Cornish

• 1 DB Song 05:33
• 2 Queinxiety 03:50
• 3 Star Is Born 04:36
• 4 Slow Song 05:29
• 5 5AM 05:17
• 6 Dinosaur Song 03:06
• 7 Palindrome 05:22
• 8 Queen Geri 04:13
• 9 Modus Operandi 04:22
• Total Runtime 41:48

Info for You’re Exaggerating!

Paul Cornish is part of a great heritage of jazz piano that has unfolded at the label, from Blue Note’s first 78-rpm releases by Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons through Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Don Pullen, Geri Allen, Jacky Terrasson, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Renee Rosnes, Aaron Parks, Gerald Clayton and beyond.

Then, he’s part of a lineage of Blue Note artists, past and present, who hail from Houston, Texas, and developed at the city’s Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, a.k.a. HSPVA. That more recent hall of fame includes Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Chris Dave and James Francies. Of course, within that list there’s yet another bloodline, of musicians who’ve come to define jazz pianism in the 21st century: Moran, Glasper, Francies and, now, Cornish, who was born and raised in Houston and has been based in Los Angeles for over a decade.

In many ways, Cornish is the most profound embodiment yet of Blue Note’s regenerative influence — the idea that, like the label’s landmark midcentury recordings, Blue Note LPs of recent vintage have had a seismic impact on jazz’s ever-evolving sound. “Those early Robert Glasper records on Blue Note, like Canvas and In My Element, were my first window into this legacy I’m part of,” says Cornish, whose profile has elevated of late through his work with fellow Blue Note artist Joshua Redman. “I look at Jason Moran as the catalyst. And Glasper took some of that and added a whole other thing to it, and then James took it even further. With each one of us, it evolves and expands.”

Cornish shares with those players a rare duality, having cultivated a unique identity while also evoking radiant bits and pieces of jazz’s past. The original compositions presented on You’re Exaggerating! were inspired by personal memories, reflections and idols. Cornish’s approach, in its even-keeled texture and shrewd harmony, is a sort of mastery that entices rather than merely impresses. Helmed by a generous, uplifting bandleader, the trio gels into a unified whole with Crumbly’s nimble, assured bass and Pinson’s nuanced, kinetic drumming.

“Continuing the legendary lineage of Houston pianists while still carving out your own lane is not an easy feat,” says Glasper. “Paul is doing just that, giving us a few pages from his personal story. Understanding the history but not being held back by the history is the ongoing struggle of the modern jazz musician. But there is no history without the now.”

Paul Cornish, piano
Jermaine Paul, double bass
Jonathan Pinson, drums

Paul Cornish
hails from Houston, Texas, where he was a student at the prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, whose alumni also include jazz luminaries such as Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Eric Harland, Kendrick Scott, Chris Dave, Walter Smith III, James Francies, and others. Cornish was one of seven jazz prodigies worldwide selected to be awarded a full fellowship to attend the esteemed Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz at UCLA where he completed his master’s degree. He was a finalist in the 2023 American Pianists Awards and the Herbie Hancock International Jazz Piano Competition. Cornish has performed extensively across the globe with such notable artists as Joshua Redman, Louis Cole, Mark Guiliana, HAIM, Snoh Aalegra, Terrace Martin, Kanye West, and many more. He strives to inspire freedom and collaboration in his music and community.

Cornish received the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s 2020 New Note Commission and recently was awarded First Place in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and the 18th Street Arts Center’s 2021 Make Jazz Fellowship. Cornish was also awarded the Grand Prize in the 2018 American Jazz Piano Competition. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Cornish has performed extensively across the globe with such notable artists as Herbie Hancock, Louis Cole, Theo Croker, Snoh Aalegra, Terrace Martin, Thumpasaurus and HAIM.

This album contains no booklet.