Enrico
Granafei, jazz harmonica player, guitarist, singer and owner of Trumpets Jazz
Club, has released his second album
Alone (and) Together. Granafei, who studied with Toots Thielemans, has
distinguished himself for his solo playing with Hands-Free Chromatic Harmonica
and guitar, something that nobody had ever done before in jazz. As guitarist
Bucky Pizzarelli said: "What he does playing two instruments at the same
time is truly amazing."
Alone
(and) Together showcases Granafei's solo playing alone and with special guests:
trumpeter Wallace Roney, guitar wizards Vic Juris and Dave Stryker,
percussionist Diego Lopez (who played with Gato Barbieri), and drummer Gordon
Lane.
The CD also features Granafei in
quartet/quintet settings with legendary drummer Billy Hart, bassist Rick Crane,
pianist Amina Figarova, and violin virtuoso Vitali Imereli. Enrico's
multilingual singing is also showcased on two songs, the Italian standard
Estate and Que reste-t il de nos amour, the well- known French song also known
as I Wish You Love.
Granafei's
first solo CD, In Search of The Third Dimension on Miles High Records, earned
wide acclaim. The CD was done without any overdubbing using the HFC (Hands-Free
Chromatic harmonica) and a nylon string guitar. The HFC, invented by Vern
Smith, is a simple and ingenious device that allows Granafei to play two
instruments at the same time by pressing the mouthpiece down with his lips
instead of pushing the slide with his finger.
Alone
(and) Together takes Granafei's unusual technique a step further through the
use of the DB guitar. The instrument - a combination of bass and guitar
invented by Italian guitarist Nico Di Battista - makes Granafei sound like a
small combo playing 3 instruments at the same time. The title of the CD Alone (and) Together also
refers to the famous standard Alone Together.
Enrico Granafei has a long history of musical
experience that encompasses both classical music and jazz. He received his
degree in classical guitar from the Conservatory of l'Aquila in Italy in 1976
and his artistic career started in Rome where he soon became known in the
musical community. In 1978 Granafei
moved to Germany where he began to perform and to teach in two different music
schools. In the early 1980s, after returning to Italy, he started to broaden
his horizons by discovering jazz through the harmonica. Following in the
tradition of the legendary Toots Thielemans, he began to explore new
possibilities for the harmonica, an instrument too often associated solely with
rock and blues. In addition to playing in the best jazz clubs in Italy during
that period, Granafei performed regularly on national television where he was a
member of the Pippo Caruso Orchestra.
His love
for jazz led him to New York City, where he soon started to perform in local
jazz clubs including The Blue Note, Birdland, Visiones, Angry Squire, and the
Bottom Line. He has performed extensively on the chromatic harmonica in the
United States and continued to be a featured musician in major European
Festivals, including Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), Euromeet Jazz Festival (Italy),
other jazz festivals throughout Italy and France, and major clubs throughout
Europe. In 1992 Granafei received his master's degree in Jazz Performance from
the Manhattan School of Music where he was the only student of Toots
Thielemans.
Granafei
has been the owner and musical director of the prestigious Trumpets Jazz Club
in Montclair, New Jersey since 1999. He continues to perform at that venue and
at other jazz venues throughout the United States and Europe, as well as to
record as a leader and sideman on CDs with Marc Johnson, Eliot Zigmund, Eddie
Gomez and Ted Curson, among others, and is featured on Nnenna Freelon's CD
"Tales of Wonder" (Concord Records).
One of the most respected players of the Chromatic Harmonica in the
world today, Granafei continues to cultivate an audience for the instrument
through his international performances.
As jazz pianist/historian Lewis Porter says: "This could be the
start of something big for harmonica players everywhere."
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