The outstanding, Italian-born guitarist Pasquale Grasso, is set to preform alongside vocalist Samara Joy with his Quartet–Ben Patterson on piano, Neal Caine on bass, and Keith Balla on drums—opening the 27th annual Litchfield Jazz Festival. Like his young colleague Joy, Grasso started early in music, but with a twist. While she hewed closely to tradition with gospel, he used elements of piano performance to flavor his compositions on guitar.
Born in October, 1988 in the lush hillside town of Ariano Irpino, Italy, Grasso was destined to prosper in music. His parents, while not professional musicians, made sure to instill their passion for music in their children by filling their home with jazz and classical melodies. The young Grasso and his brother Luigi found themselves moved by live jazz performed at the neighboring Umbria Jazz Festival, an annual event since 1973. Pasquale Grasso would not become completely enamored with jazz until one day when a guitar caught his interest while visiting a local music shop near his home. His father made him a deal before purchasing the instrument, “If I buy this for you,” he said, “you have to promise me that you’ll practice” (Pasquale Grasso, pasqualegrasso.com, 2016). Practice Grasso did and he quickly became a promising player on the instrument.
Pasquale Grasso / downbeat.com
Grasso would begin developing his own technique under the tutelage of Agostino Di Giorgio, a New York-raised guitarist who himself was a pupil of the famed guitarist Chuck Wayne. DiGiorgio passed on Wayne’s unique concepts with scales and chords to Grasso but Grasso would not truly develop his own guitar technique until he met Barry Harris. Harris, a world-renowned jazz educator and bebop piano master, became an extraordinary influence on Grasso after he attended Harris’ jazz workshop in Switzerland in 1998.Under Harris’ wing, Grasso would define his technique and perspective on jazz so well that he became Harris’ teaching assistant at workshops in Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, Holland, and Slovenia.
However, Grasso’s approach to the music would change radically after an “ah ha” moment inspired by hearing classical guitarist David Russell. “I was shocked because of the amazing sound and touch and the way that he was playing,” he recalls. “I thought I should study classical guitar to really learn the instrument. Jazz guitarists play chords or play melody, but the classical guys play chords and melody together—like a piano, like a small orchestra. I thought, ‘That’s exactly what I want to do with jazz.’ My technique was okay, but there was something missing” (Ted Panken, jazztimes.com, 2021).
Inspired by and combining the techniques of Wayne and Harris, Grasso would quickly make a name for himself after moving to New York in 2012. There Grasso became a part of the Ari Roland Quartet and the Chris Byars Quartet going on to be named a Jazz Ambassador in a program sponsored by the US State Department, going on touring Europe from Lithuania to Cyprus. Going forward, he would work with numerous leading jazz musicians internationally such as Barry Harris, Charles Davis, Freddie Redd, Frank Wess, Leroy Williams, Ray Drummond, and more. His impressive work even gained the endorsement of the legendary Pat Metheny. Asked by a writer of Vintage Guitar magazine to name some young musicians who impressed him, Metheny said, “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso… He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years” (Pasquale Grasso, pasqualegrasso.com, 2016). Today, at 33, Pasquale Grasso can be found most often teaching the next generation of jazz musicians or performing around the globe.
Visit the Litchfield Jazz Festival’s website at litchfieldjazzfest.com to learn more about the captivating performances in store for the end of July. To purchase tickets to see Pasquale Grasso perform alongside Samara Joy on July 29th starting at 5:45 pm at the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center, be sure to click: ljf2022.eventbrite.com.