(KALAMAZOO, MI) -- Dr. Pierre van der Westhuizen, Executive and Artistic Director of The Gilmore, announced Tyler Bullock (Jersey City resident) and Esteban Castro (raised in Hackensack and Jazz House Kids alumnus) as the recipients of The Gilmore's inaugural 2026 Larry J. Bell Young Jazz Artist Awards, recognizing artistic excellence.
Each winner receives a $25,000 stipend to further their musical career and educational development. Master pianist Bill Charlap honored Tyler and Esteban in a virtual award presentation, now streaming at TheGilmore.org and via The Gilmore’s YouTube channel.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tyler and Esteban to the family of Gilmore young artist award winners. Each of these young men reflect the extraordinary diversity of voices shaping the future of jazz music. We are excited to support their development and honored to help further their ascending careers.” - Seth Ambramson, Director of The Gilmore's Jazz Awards
(LEFT) Tyler Bullock (RIGHT) Esteban Castro
Founded along with The Gilmore’s inaugural Bell Jazz Artist Award (to be presented in October 2025), the Bell Young Jazz Artists Awards are bestowed every four years to spotlight the most promising of the new generation of pianists living in the United States, age 24 and younger. The Awards provide the artists an inimitable platform for embarking on a career and offering audiences and listeners a chance to discover emerging jazz artists.
Candidates for the Award are nominated by music professionals from around the world. Those nominated are evaluated over an extended period of time for their pianism and musical promise by the Jazz Awards Artistic Advisory Committee. The process is carried out anonymously, and candidates are unaware of their own consideration.
Tyler and Esteban will perform solo recitals during the 2026 Gilmore Piano Festival, April 30 – May 10, 2026, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
“It has long been a dream of The Gilmore’s to support the next generation of exceptional jazz pianists. We are happy to celebrate and recognize these two bright young stars who are transforming the soundtrack of tomorrow. I hope this gift gives them the courage to create, be bold, and build bridges between jazz’s history and possibility.” -- Larry J. Bell, Past President of The Gilmore's Board of Trustees
Tyler Bullock II is a dynamic pianist and composer located in New York City. Since moving from Nashville to attend the Juilliard School (BM 2025), Tyler has already established himself as one of the most promising pianists of his generation, having worked with Samara Joy, Sean Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Baylor Project, Herlin Riley, Willie Jones III, Sherman Irby, Ulysses Owens Jr., Bruce Williams, Curtis Lundy, Roy Hargrove Crisol and The Roy Hargrove Big Band – where he has been the regular pianist since 2022. In 2023, Tyler recorded an album with Ulysses Owens Jr.’s Gen Y Band at Rudy Van Gelder studio that spent eight weeks at #1 on the Jazz Radio Charts. Most recently, he recorded with Sean Jones for an upcoming album.
Tyler has toured internationally and played at top festivals and venues including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, The Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Caramoor Jazz Festival, The Vancouver Jazz Festival, Blue Note NYC, Dizzy’s Club NYC, and The Cotton Club in Tokyo. In 2022, Tyler was honored at the National Young Arts top winner in jazz piano. He was also chosen for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra Jazz in 2021 and for the NYO Jazz All-Stars in 2023. In 2024, he was selected to participate in the acclaimed Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program at The Kennedy Center.
Esteban Castro is a Brooklyn-based pianist and composer born in 2002. Esteban started playing piano at age three, and quickly started improvising and composing at a young age. Esteban furthered their studies in both jazz and classical music privately with teachers including Fred Hersch and Phillip Kawin, and by participating in many high school programs such as the Manhattan School of Music Precollege and Jazz House Kids. In 2020, Esteban started studies at the Juilliard School on a full tuition scholarship, and graduated with their Bachelor of Music in 2024.
Since moving to New York, Esteban Castro has performed nationally and internationally as a leader, and as a sideman for bands led by artists such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Billy Drummond, Francesco Cafiso, Peter Evans, Joe Farnsworth, Giveton Gelin, Russell Hall, Harish Raghavan, and Ben Solomon, among others. In 2016, Esteban was the youngest-ever first prize winner of the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition. Later, they were selected as a finalist for the 2023 American Piano Awards and is a winner of the 2025 Gilmore Festival Bell Young Jazz Award.
Mirroring the internationally renowned Gilmore Artist Awards for classical pianists, the Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Awards provides some of the most generous financial support given in the musical arts. The Jazz Awards program was established in 2022 with an $8.8 million gift to The Gilmore’s endowment and is named for Kalamazoo businessman and Past President of the Gilmore International Piano Festival Board of Trustees, Larry J. Bell, who founded Bell’s Brewery in 1985. The Larry J. Bell Young Jazz Artist Awards are presented every four years. The Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award will be conferred every four years to a jazz pianist with the inaugural recipient to be announced in October 2025.
Created in 1989 to honor the legacy of businessman and philanthropist Irving S. Gilmore, The Gilmore is the premier institution in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing and awarding extraordinary piano artistry. The Gilmore has presented 16 piano festivals, commissioned over 40 new works for piano, and awarded over $3 million as part of its internationally renowned Gilmore Artists Awards for classical pianists. The Gilmore will present its annual (previously biennial) Gilmore Piano Festival April 30-May 10 in 2026. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, The Gilmore continues to impact the lives of thousands of area children and adults through its year-round community engagement and music education programs including summer camps, music therapy, and much more.
