Ben Waltzer is a jazz pianist, journalist, and educator. He serves as the Assistant Director of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program at Columbia University where he teaches jazz piano, improvisation, and directs student ensembles. Ben’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Newark Star-Ledger, Tablet Magazine, and other publications. He attended Tufts, the New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Ben lives in Brooklyn with his wife Yasmin Spiro, and daughter, Bella. He can be reached at ben.waltzer@gmail.com.