Pasquale Grasso

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pasquale Grasso (born October 19, 1988 in Ariano Irpino ) is an Italian jazz musician ( guitar , composition ). Pat Metheny called him “probably the best guitarist of our day” in an interview.

Live and act

Grasso, who grew up in a family of music lovers in the province of Avellino , began taking music lessons from the age of four. On the guitar he soon turned to jazz. Making music (also with his saxophone brother Luigi ) became a favorite pastime. Since 1997 he took lessons from Agostino di Giorgio, a student of Chuck Wayne , and three years later from Barry Harris (who after a few years let him lead workshops in Europe). He took part in important youth competitions (often in a duo with his brother) and won numerous top positions at Baronissi Jazz, Premio internazionale Massimo Urbani, Bravo Bravissimo or Concorso TIM Internaional Music Competition .

With the trio of Teo Ciavarella, Grasso took part in 1999 on his brother's first album ( A Love Supreme ); In 2001 a duo album followed with his brother. From 2000 to 2009 he played at numerous festivals in Central and Eastern Europe. From 2006 to 2008 he studied classical guitar at the Conservatory of Bologna with Walter Zanetti . During his time at the Conservatory, he developed a new approach to the guitar that combines the classical tradition with Chuck Wayne's technique.

Grasso undertook his first tour to North America in 2008. He has lived in New York since 2012, where he was part of the quartet of Ari Roland and Chris Byars , with whom he toured internationally. In 2015 he released his solo album Reflections of Me . The album Merci Toots, recorded together with harmonica player Yvonnick Prené , was also released as an in-house production . In 2019 the WDR Big Band Cologne invited him as a soloist for a concert production with titles by Bud Powell (in which the piano was omitted). In the same year he presented the EPs Solo: Standards, Vol. 1 , Solo: Ballads, Vol. 1 , Solo Monk and Solo Holiday at Sony Masterworks, followed by the album Solo Masterpieces in 2020 . He can also be heard on albums by Zaid Nasser , Jamale Davis and Joan Chamorro .

As a visiting professor he is connected to the jazz course at Purchase College of the State University of New York .

Prizes and awards

Grasso won the Premio Internazionale Lecco Jazz in 2002 and the Eddie Lang National Jazz Guitar Competition in 2005 . In 2015 he received first place at the Wes Montgomery Competition .

Discographic notes

  • Solo Masterpieces (Sony Masterworks, 2020)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Pasquale Grasso plays Bud Powell
  2. ↑ Metheny on the best guitar player he has ever heard: Pasquale Grasso (jazzguitar.be)
  3. ↑ Jazz, alla rassegna del Torrione i fratelli Luigi e Pasquale Grasso (2008)
  4. ↑ Review: Yvonnick Prene & Pasquale Grasso: Merci Toots All About Jazz
personal data
SURNAME Grasso, Pasquale
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian jazz musician (guitar, composition)
DATE OF BIRTH October 19, 1988
PLACE OF BIRTH Ariano Irpino