solo pianist, bandleader

Pianist Antonio Croes has developed a meta-system for performance called après-garde music, a method for spontaneously creating highly structured music.  This approach builds on the innovations of master musicians such as Monty Alexander, Bill Tobin, Anthony Braxton, and Jason Moran.  Croes performs a personalized repertoire of American standards, pop music, Caribbean music, and original compositions, all infused with his dynamic swinging style and drawing from his Aruban heritage.  Every concert is spontaneous, melodic, groovy, and irreverent, with a consistent stylistic DNA but a high level of variety from one performance to another.   

Antonio primarily performs solo but also leads ensembles ranging from two to 30+ members.  His ensembles utilize a system of sheet music and conduction he devised called layer notation, which allows a group of any size to improvise in the apres-garde style.  

Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Antonio has performed all around the US as well as Canada, Aruba, and Spain.  He performed in the 2024 Menorca Jazz Festival with Naomi Uyama as well as the 2025 Golden Age Jazz Festival with The Precipice Community Band.  He plays piano, keybird, melodica, and harmonium.  

In addition to performing, Antonio teaches music theory and improvisation in Pittsburgh and frequently leads clinics and workshops on the apres-garde and also general jazz and music topics.  He plays with Paul Cosentino's Boilermaker Jazz Band, Permanent Cosmic Damage, The Dwayne Dolphin Fo'Tet, and Patrick Breiner's Two Of Everything.