Paul Cornish: Finding Freedom in Unexpected Moments

When jazz musician Paul Cornish sits at the piano, he doesn’t just play notes — he opens doorways. The Houston-born, Los Angeles–based pianist has become one of the most compelling young voices in contemporary jazz, drawing from a lineage that stretches from Herbie Hancock to Geri Allen, while insisting on making space for humor, openness, and discovery.

Cornish’s debut album, You’re Exaggerating, released on August 22nd to wide acclaim, is both deeply personal and powerfully collaborative.

Across its tracks, Cornish and his trio use composition as a springboard rather than a script, exploring songs that transform each night on stage. For Cornish, improvisation isn’t simply a skill but a philosophy: an openness to the unexpected, both in music and in life.

About to turn 29 next month, Cornish has already studied at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, toured with artists like Joshua Redman, and shared stages with peers shaping the next generation of jazz. Yet he speaks as much about community as he does about personal ambition, championing the work of his fellow musicians and advocating for arts education in public schools.

On Wednesday, September 17th, Cornish will perform his album release show at The Sun Rose in West Hollywood, CA.

In this conversation Cornish reflects on the evolution of his music, the influence of mentors like Geri Allen, and the ongoing dialogue between tradition, experimentation, and joy. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our YouTube channel.

Q: Most of the newest songs on You’re Exaggerating were written back in 2019, which means it’s been six years since then. How much additional music have you written, and when might we be hearing it?

Oh, that’s a great question. I have written quite a bit of music since then, especially while I was in the Herbie Hancock Institute. I wrote a lot for that ensemble. The music kind of fits in different zones — projects, concepts — so it’s kind of hard to say when it will come out. It really just depends on what feels right for the next output. Hopefully soon, though.

Do you need time to pass before you know whether a song really works?

Yes, definitely. There are a few checkpoints. We’ve been playing some different music with this trio on the road, and trying it in front of people. My friend Henry Solomon, who produced this record, he’s one of the people I trust the most in terms of his opinion and perspective. Before putting the album out, I sat with him to figure out what felt like a cohesive album. I’ll probably do the same thing again for with he upcoming one.

What have you learned from the songs on You’re Exaggerating as you’ve been on tour?

It’s been interesting to see how people connect differently. Everyone has a different favorite — there isn’t one song that stands above the rest. That was my intent, that everyone could find their home in the record. Playing live with this trio for about a year now, the music is truly different each time. I see the songs as a springboard — not something that has to go a certain way, but a vehicle to take us elsewhere. I didn’t realize how open the songs were in that way. Truly every time we sit down to play it, new things happen. I’m grateful that the songs are constructed in a way, and the trio is constructed in a way that we can continue to explore this music even a year later.

Has your relationship with these tunes changed since you recorded them?

Absolutely. Wayne Shorter said a song is never truly finished, and it feels that way. I feel like they keep teaching me about themselves. I like to call them underground passageways or the shadows of the notes. You never really know what’s there until you spend time with them. So I feel like my relationship with them has changed. It just feels more intimate. They truly feel like part of me.

At your concert in Chicago, the songs were longer, more aggressive, and bigger than on the record. How far do you think you’ve come since writing and recording them?

We recorded the album two years ago, in December 2022. That was a long wait. I was mainly hoping the songs would hold up by the time it came out, because both the world and I had changed. Thankfully, they still spoke to people. The intent was always for the album to present the compositions to be about thesongs themselves. Then live, I wanted to explore them tigoether in a way of like, did you know they could go here. I took that from records I love — like Geri Allen’s — where tracks were two or three minutes, but live, they could grow into something completely different.

Speaking of Geri Allen, you’ve celebrated her work for a long time including the Geri Allen Project at Sam First in 2022. How would you like your music to bring attention to her, and how does her approach influence you?

The crazy thing I realized is what she was doing for other pianists. She has a bunch of compositions that are in tribute to other people. Like she has the composition called Dolphy’s Dance, which is dedicated to Eric Dolphy. She did a whole Mary Lou Williams project covering like Zodiac Suite. At the end of her life she worked on getting Erroll Garner’s archives. I didn’t realize that at first, but there’s something poetic about that. She was so generous and giving to those who inspired her. I just want to be in line with that. When people hear me, just know that this is a huge influence on me and for many others. We have to continue saying her name and lifting up her legacy.

You also lift up other artists legacies. One of the things I enjoy about your Instagram is that it isn’t just self-promotion — you share and celebrate other musicians’ work. Why is that important to you?

For many reasons. This is my first record, but I’ve been at this for over 10 years, and it’s not easy. I’m inspired by my peers — we have all kind of persevered, we’ve all crossed paths at competitions, in college, in New York. AT this point we’re putting out our own music, so it’s really a celebration. I just never believed that success is just for you. It’s about the people who’ve helped you and the community you’re part of. I don’t want my platform to only be about me — that’s not the truth of how I got here.

You once said that practicing, theory, and listening are all about preparing you to make the best decision in the moment. How has that training affected you as a bandleader?

It’s helped me be more open. As an improviser, you prepare so you’re equipped for the moment, but not necessarily like using your preparation to find the moment, if that makes sense. I think the same thing happens with the leader. Like truly understanding what your band is bringing to the moment and sometimes sacrificing your ideas and allow them to flourish. The music is better because of it.

Do you record your shows and listen back?

I didn’t use to — it’s hard for me to listen to myself. But I learned from Joshua Redman and Louis Cole, who record everything and listen back carefully. So I started doing the same. On this tour, we’ve even been listening back together as a trio and making adjustments as we go.

Humor shows up in your music – even in the titles. Why is that important to you?

I’m going to go back to from Louis Cole on that one beaucse I’ve been fortunate to witness with him is that balance of absurdist humor but focus on making the music high quality. I always thought that was a powerful balance to strike with the music.

We’re playing music. I don’t think anything should ever be that serious. Even with heavier musical things, you have to be able to laugh. That’s just a crucial part of the human experience, and I wanted to make sure that was part of my expression on the album.

In another interview you spoke about your relationship with the piano. Has that changed through performing this album?

I don’t know if it’s necessarily changed. I think it is kind of what I was describing with the songs themselves. The more time you spend with the instrument, the more you discover. When I was growing up, my teacher are like, you should really focus one one instrument before other instruments. I realized in focusing only on piano that it isn’t limiting. I continue to see new possibilities as far as like sounds I can make through the instrument. Every instrument I play at different venues is different, and each one tells me something new about how it wants to be expressed.

You’ve also spoken about the lack of arts funding in schools. What role do you see yourself playing as an advocate?

I think it’s twofold. I think it’s important to keep talking about it, and to reach whoever I can — philanthropists, policymakers. If my music can reach them or if I can reach them in some way stressing the importance of young students having access to the arts, even if they don’t become professionals. I think research has shown society is more well-rounded when people understand the arts. I also talk to students directly at camps and schools about exploring that side of your humanity.

You appear on Gregory Groover’s upcoming album Old Knew due out on November 7th alongside Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, and Walter Smith III. What was that experience like?

Man, that whole album was crazy.. Walter Smith reached out to me to record on it. That was just a special thing in itself because I’ve known Walter for years, but we’ve never talked much, let alone played together. So for him to reach out, it really means a lot. Same with Kendrick. I’ve known him for years. That was our first time getting to play together. Getting to know Greg over time…he is an awesome soul who writes great music. We share a lot spiritually too. We just kind of aligned.

Geri Allen once said: “You have to be students of life and be very careful as we move through it. There’s always some kind of unexpected moment every day, and you have to adjust. Music is like that. You can’t ever take that for granted.” What are the adjustments you’re now making to the unexpected moments that are happening in your life and career?

You can’t really anticipate unexpected moments — that’s why they’re unexpected. I guess I just try to do the best I can with what I know and who I am and who I’m trying to be as a human being. I think unexpected things kind of hit the hardest when you’re not willing to allow them to happen. Just having a willingness to, I guess, roll with the punches. Allow them to happen and learn from them.

To see the full interview with Paul Cornish, please go HERE.

For Paul Cornish’s tour updates, please go HERE.

Main Photo: Paul Cornish (Photo by Piper Ferguson / Courtesy Blue Note Records)