RIZZOLI MUSIC APERITIVO

From Francis Scott Fitzgerald to Jack Kerouac, from Toni Morrison to James Baldwin, from Philip Michael Ondaatje to Geoff Dyer, from Julio Cortazar to Boris Vian, from Amiri Baraka and Ishmael Reed to Jayne Cortez, the list of international writers and poets inspired or intrigued by jazz and other musical genres goes on.

Since New York City’s Rizzoli Bookstore has a long tradition of building bridges between arts genres, international scenes and creative people, we wanted to turn our gorgeous space in NoMad into an experimental living room where live jazz and other music can be enjoyed. The “Rizzoli Music Aperitivo” is sponsored by FieldBlendSelections and is curated by Mondo Jazz, the weekly Radio Free Brooklyn show dedicated to international jazz.

 (Photo credits Guglielmo Mattioli)

2021 Performances

14 November at 4:30 pm: Hearign Things

Hearing Things plays instrumental music recalling an era where instrumental hits were all the rage. Through the compositional imagination of saxophonist Matt Bauder, their material channels early rock & roll, surf, jump blues and north african soul while retaining a modern surrealist approach. Bauder’s unique perspective comes partly from working with such free jazz luminaries as Anthony Braxton, Rob Mazurek and Taylor Ho Bynum as well as indie rock icons Arcade Fire, Iron & Wine and Jovanotti.

Past Performances 

02 February at 5pm: Feb Jesse Harris
COSMO is the instrumental project of Grammy Award winning composer Jesse Harris, which play song-like compositions, written by Harris, that vacillate between written melodies and modern polyphony, arranged by the ensemble. With Jesse Harris (guitar), CJ Camerieri (trumpet/flugelhorn/french horn), Jeremy Gustin (drums), Will Graefe (guitar), Michael Boschen (trombone) and Benjamin L. Davis (bass). 

27 October 2019: Christine Tobin Trio

One of the leading European vocalists will offer her personal take on the poetry of William Butler Yeats and Paul Muldoon, new arrangements of songs by Leonard Cohen as well as her own originals. 

With Phil Robson on guitar and Sam Bevan on bass.

10 November at 5pm: Armo

Focusing on classical and contemporary Afrobeat, Armo is an outgrowth of the cult-band Antibalas, featuring the works of Fela Anikulapo Kuti and new directions in music set upon by Armo’s founders. With Amayo (vocals, keys), Jordan McLean (trumpet), Marcus Farrar (vocals, percussion) Kevin Raczka (drums) Justin Kimmel (bass), Nikhil P. Yerawadekar (guitar) 

08 December at 5pm: Ned Rothenberg Symv
A trio of New York based virtuosos and their fusion of jazz and Asian music in a unique programme of original compositions. One of the most compelling examples of genre-defying music. With Ned Rothenberg (saxophone, clarinets), Jerome Harris (guitars), Samir Chatterjee (tabla and percussion).

29 September at 5pm: Chiara Izzi
New York based Italian vocalist Chiara Izzi will be presenting new music from her latest and upcoming projects which showcases her talents as a songwriter and interpreter. The performance will be a journey of Chiara’s passion for the languages in which she enjoys telling her stories, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English. Her natural penchant is to create unpredictable musical encounters between musical worlds. Her music crosses borders and time; spanning from jazz to pop, folk to world and classical.

08 September: Rudy Royston with Flatbed Buggy Rudy Royston's latest project, Flatbed Buggy, is an expertly crafted, chamber-like jazz ensemble with musical influences that range from blues and Americana to rock and gospel.  The music is dusty and airy, groovy and swinging, evoking countryside images and outdoor freshness.  A lover of all genres of music, Rudy continues to receive recognition and expand his horizons as he explores many opportunities as a composer/arranger and performer in the world of Jazz.

22 June: Bebo Ferra (acoustic and classical guitar) and Paolino Dalla Porta (acoustic bass) have been collaborating since 1995 on various projects. The Duo was born in 1997 by invitation of the Centro Meridionale di Cultura italiana (South Centre of Italian Culture) for a festival of acoustic duos and original music performed in Bologna, Italy, at Aula Absidale di Santa Lucia.

30 June: Emile Parisien and Vincent Peirani Tango
Emile Parisien soprano saxophone Vincent Peiraniaccordion / voice. After paying tribute to musicians and composers of the Belle Époque, including Sydney Bchet and DukeEllington, to name just two of them, VincentPeirani and Émile Parisien set out to discover Argentine

19 May: Howard Fishman (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Russell Farhang (violin) play music that combines opposites: dark and light, celebration and introspection, love and heartbreak, elegance and roughness. 

7 April: Michael Blake and Brass

Conjuring music from the curbsides and corners of cultures far and wide, Blake and Brass reverberates with the spirit of street music from around the world.Stalwart members of the New York City creative scene, these musicians have collaborated with everyone that matters, from Sonny Rollins to the Lounge Lizards, Robert Altman, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Bill Frisell, Sting, Prince, Nick Cave, Ray Lamontagne and Nathalie Cole and tons more.

28 April: Musette Explosion 
Musette Explosion is a trio from New York City featuring Will Holshouser (accordion), Matt Munisteri (guitar) and Marcus Rojas (tuba). In this very special band they bring the beautiful Parisian musette style to new places through virtuosic improvisation and original pieces, sonic surprises and adventurous playing, shot through with a sense of fun and an emotional depth. 

16 March: JAI Trio 
The New York debut of the exciting new project featuring three virtuosos.  (J)enny, (A)l, and (I)saac are a trio with two guitars and a violin.  They met at a festival three years ago in Austin, Texas and have joined forces for this beautiful sonic combination in a tintillating program of music spanning classical, contemporary, and tango works by Astor Piazzola, John Truitt, Preston Stahley, Antonio Rojas, Arvo Pärt, and Clarice Assad.

3 March: Pyeng Threadgill
Described as “charmingly eclectic" by St Louis Today, Pyeng Threadgill sings ‘New Porch Music’ crafting an intimate journey through folk and Jazz with Afro-electronic inflections. Her fourth solo album and multimedia project entitled Head Full of Hair, Heart Full of Song, shines a light on hair, adornment and ancestry, and the societal and political as well as spiritual conflicts therein.

7 February: Marco Cappelli's Nesbo Project
Marco Cappelli has led an extraordinary artistic path, first becoming familiar with rigorous written music, then with free improvisation languages. His newly released album “Norwegian Landscapes” is freely inspired by the noir novels of Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø. 

19 January: Erik Friedlander
“Today's leading cello innovator and a stalwart of the creative music scene in a rare solo performance showcasing some of the highlights from his diverse range of projects.”

6 January: The Michael Leonhart Orchestra
“A rare semi-private performance of The Michael Leonhart Orchestra, NYC's most exciting large ensemble.”

 8 December: The Ahn Trio
“A very rare NYC pop-up concert by the in-demand Ahn Trio marks the end of the first year of the Rizzoli Music Aperitivo.”

 9 November: Jane Ira Bloom
“Award winning soprano saxophonist/composer Jane Ira Bloom presents "Wild Lines," her project for jazz quartet and spoken word, inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson.”

 21 October: Yacine Boulares and Vincent Segal
“In a special duo show, Yacine Boulares and Vincent Segal will present music from Suites for Abu Sadiya along with readings of poems and songs from the Tunisian Stambeli tradition.” 

 14 September: Dida Pelled featuring Spencer Murphy and Andrew Millar 
“New York-based Israeli guitarist and vocalist Dida Pelled will be interpreting remarkable songs by a group of underground female artists who wrote music and lyrics often well ahead of their time.” 

 2 August: Roy Nathanson's Sotto Voce featuring Jeff Friedman 
“A stripped down version of Roy Nathanson's band Sotto Voce will be joined by poet Jeff Friedman for an evening of odd and beautiful stories/songs performed in the shade of Rizzoli's forest of books.”

 17 June: Camille Bertault & Chico Pinheiro
“These young stars of the French and Brazilian jazz scenes launch a series of live performances at Rizzoli Bookstore that will spotlight international talent and spark cross-pollination between music and books.”