Pasquale Grasso Trio

Stunning jazz guitar artistry at its finest

Sponsored by Lorna Jorgensen & Paul Lehnert and Catherine & James DeBlasio

3 Concerts in 2027 : Sunday Jan 17 6: 5 PM & 8 PM | Monday Jan 18 : 6:30 PM

In his interview for Vintage Guitar magazine’s February 2016 cover story, Pat Metheny was asked to name some younger musicians who’d impressed him. “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso," said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. “This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult.”

Listening to Pasquale Grasso play “A Night in Tunisia” from his album “Be-Bop,” and you'll see what Metheny is talking about. When you hear the familiar notes, you wonder, “Is that one or two guitars playing?” Well, it’s only one, and that’s only the start. As the song moves on, he bursts out with the be-bop.

How did this Italian guitarist get to this place?

Born in the Italian countryside, Basso was introduced to jazz at a young age by listening to his father’s jazz records. He and his older brother, Luigi, who plays saxophone, listened and practiced together. His father found them a teacher, and in 1998, the brothers attended a jazz workshop with Barry Harris in Switzerland. This relationship blossomed, and for the next five years, the Grasso brothers worked with Harris and became two of his instructors. In this role, Pasquale led workshops in Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, Holland, and Slovenia. Pasquale also is a Lecturer of Jazz Studies at the Purchase College Conservatory of Music.

In 2012, Pasquale found himself in New York City. He became a member of the Ari Roland and Chris Byars quartets and began performing at clubs and music festivals. He was named a Jazz Ambassador by the US Embassy and toured extensively across Europe, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, and Cyprus, among other countries. He has played with artists including Freddie Redd, Frank Wess, Leroy Williams, Ray Drummond, and Steve Grossman. He played with Samara Joy on her first 2021 album and on her Grammy-winning 2022 album “Linger Awhile.”

And the unique be-bop sound?

According to a record label press release, Pasquale notes, "I never listened too much to guitarists when I was growing up because my brother is a saxophone player, so we were listening a lot to the recordings of Charlie Parker and Gillespie, and there’s never a lot of guitar on those recordings. So I transcribed the piano parts. I really love the piano players—Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope, Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum …”

Pasquale listened and learned from these masters. You’re in for a treat!