“Jake Hart is a double threat. At such a young age, he is well on his way towards performing and composing at the highest level. We will watch and listen to Jake with great interest.”

— Dave Liebman
NEA Jazz Master

Jake Hart began playing piano at the age of 7. He was self-taught until he began formal lessons on classical piano when he turned 14. Along with his interests in classical music, Jake also played jazz piano and began studying jazz at Florida International University and later transferred to the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music where he graduated from with a Bachelor of Music in the Spring of 2018.

Jake was a finalist in the 2017 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. Jake’s trio was also in the finals of the 2017 Žilina International Jazz Contest. In February 2018, one of Jake's recordings was placed in the final round of the 7 Virtual Jazz Club: Global Online Competition for Jazz Musicians. Also, Jake was selected as a finalist in the 2018 American Jazz Piano Competition. In the Summer of 2018, Jake's trio was one of the top finalists in the Conad Jazz Contest and played at the Umbria Jazz Festival. Jake was also selected as a finalist in the Riga Jazz Stage’s International Jazz Artist Contest in April 2019. In September 2019, one of Jake's recordings received honorable mention in the Unsigned Only Music Competition. Jake also received honorable mention in the 2023 ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards Competition for one of his compositions.

In the Spring of 2020, Jake received a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy with an emphasis in Injury-Preventive Technique from Salem College under the direction of Barbara Lister-Sink. After completing his graduate studies, Jake composed a 54 minute composition for solo piano entitled Collage that he premiered as both performer/composer in the Fall of 2022.