Francesca Tanksley—described by legendary jazz critic Nat Hentoff as "a vivid presence"—is an internationally accomplished pianist, educator, and composer. A long-time pianist for the renowned Billy Harper Quintet, Ms. Tanksley has toured and recorded extensively, and has performed with influential jazz figures including trombone pioneer Melba Liston, tenor saxophonist David Newman, multi-instrumentalist Howard Johnson, bassist Reggie Workman, and many others at premier venues such as the Newport Jazz Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), and Ronnie Scott’s (London). Her own ensemble, the Francesca Tanksley Trio, released the album Journey, which spent 11 weeks on the JazzWeek charts.

Professor Tanksley brings two decades of experience as a full-time faculty member at Berklee, following 20 years of teaching in The New School University Jazz Program. An alumnus of Berklee who entered at age 16, she later earned her master’s degree at Queens College, studying piano and composition with jazz legends Sir Roland Hanna and Jimmy Heath, while also studying classical piano with Harry Jensen in the Franz Liszt tradition.