Dr. E & Squeeze in Tight

About

Eli Yamin (widely known as "Dr. E") is out from New York City to play blues, bebop and swing--topical original songs mixed with classics by Thelonious Monk, Elizabeth Cotten, and Willie Dixon. Dr. E is a bluesy jazz pianist and cultural ambassador whose joyful style has taken him from performances with Mercedes Ellington, Illinois Jacquet and Walter Perkins to four appearances with his own band at the White House for the Obamas and ten global tours for the U.S. Department of State. His work embraces jazz as a tool for community building and social justice built on the idea that “the blues is the roots, everything else is the fruits.” At home in New York City, Dr. E inspires audiences of all ages through his performances, jazz musicals for youth performers, community workshops and institute for adults, videos, books, and the extensive reach of the thriving uptown based non profit organization he co-founded and directs in Northern Manhattan, Jazz Power Initiative, a leading concert and education producer uptown. Named a 2026 Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association, he's an internationally celebrated pianist, composer, educator, and co-founder/Managing & Artistic Director of the Jazz Power Initiative, a 22-year-old nonprofit transforming lives through jazz arts education and performance. Eli has performed at Lincoln Center, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the White House, and toured more than 20 countries as a U.S. cultural ambassador. His recordings include Squeeze In Tight , jazz and blues songs for solidarity , You Can’t Buy Swing featuring Lakecia Benjamin, I Feel So Glad featuring Bob Stewart and Kate McGarry, and Louie’s Dream with clarinetist Evan Christopher. He also recorded and toured with jazz icon Illinois Jacquet and baritone saxophonist Claire Daly whose album Swing Low is featured in the collection of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. Eli is the creator of three original jazz musicals for youth— Nora’s Ark (climate and social change), Holding the Torch for Liberty (women’s suffrage), and Message from Saturn (the healing power of the blues)—which have been staged in four languages across five countries and 14 U.S. states.