Like many musicians, Anat Fort‘s first exposure to music and the arts began at a very young age, when her parents began taking her to lessons at age five in her native Israel. While the standard image is that of a young child playing “Chopsticks,” or an endless string of scales, the pianist’s experience was quite different and informs her music to this day.

“At the time it was unusual. I was studying with a teacher who was developing a new method for teaching music to kids,” Fort said during a recent interview with DCist. “It would involve acting, drawing, dancing, anything creative that would allow you to express yourself.”

With her mother’s encouragement, Fort eventually chose to pursue music as a career. While she enjoyed improvising as part of her musical development, she decided to move to New York in the early 90s to deepen her knowledge of the art form. As she began to gain notice in the Big Apple’s alternative jazz scene, Fort decided to self-produce an album. She hired legendary drummer Paul Motian for the session. Motian was impressed with the material and presented it to Manfred Eicher, founder of ECM Records, one of the jazz world’s most celebrated labels. Eicher decided to release the album, A Long Story, in 2004.

“It was really kind of a Cinderella story,” said Fort of the experience. “Now I’m like, ‘How did this happen?’”