Guitarist Dave Giardina carefully and aptly picked the word goza ?Spanish for joy ? as the name of his celebratory Latin and Brazilian jazz combo that he leads Sunday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m. at the admission-free Baby Grand Jazz series at the Hartford Public Library.
A versatile player well-schooled in styles ranging from classical and flamenco to samba and modern jazz, Giardina and his Goza Brazilian Jazz Quintet present Latin-flavored odes to joy in the downtown library's atrium in the Sunday series enjoying the biggest turnouts in its history.
With his fingerstyle technique, Giardina creates a warm, fluent sound, unfolding with lithe melodic lines, resonant chords of harmonic depth, varied voicings and a rhythmic kick that generates a sense of jubilation.
Giardina's compatriots are Jeff Taylor, woodwinds; Karina Hernandez, violin and vocals; Matt Dwonszyk, bass; and Jerrod Cattey, drums and percussion.
Taylor, who teaches at the University of Connecticut, played for a number of years in the 1990s with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Originally from Mexico, Hernandez is a sweet-toned singer whose violin accentuates the small band's string strengths whose depths are buttressed by Dwonszyk, a young, big-toned bassist. Cattey, a young drummer from Torrington, leads his own Brazilian jazz group in Litchfield County.
Giardina has spread pleasure with Goza throughout New England at such venues as the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and at many local clubs and restaurants. Currently, Goza has a regular gig every Wednesday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Barcelona Restaurant, 971 Farmington Ave., West Hartford.
Born in Virginia, Giardina moved with his family to Westport when he was six-months old and grew up in a house filled with Latin music.
As a guitar-smitten youngster, he led his own rock bands through his years at Westport's Staples High School. Beginning on guitar as a hard-core rocker, his early idols included The Beatles, The Kinks, Cream, and Paul Revere and the Raiders, along with such individual superheroes as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
Besides attending the prestigious Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass., Giardina has studied with many distinguished jazz, classical and flamenco guitarists, including Sal Salvador and Paco Pena. As a teacher, he has taught guitar at Trinity College, St. Joseph College, The Hartford Conservatory and Manchester Community College, as well as privately.
As a performer, he has appeared extensively throughout the Northeast at schools, bandshells, major festivals and casinos, both as a soloist and as the leader of his own Latin ensembles.
Although he has performed at the Hartford Public Library before, Sunday marks his debut in Baby Grand Jazz, a series that he regards as a "tremendous event" for Hartford.
"Every gig is different," he says, "but I think this is the most intense, with lots of serious jazz fans turning out in the atrium, which is a great performance space. It's one hour. So we're going to pack our best into that one hour," he promises.
Describing the series as "enormously popular," the library has announced that its first four concerts in January were attended by a record-breaking 1,500 people, the highest monthly total since the series was launched in 2004.
The library is at 500 Main St., Hartford. Information: http://www.hplct.org and 860-695-6300.
Sibling Revelry
Pianist Alma Macbride and her brother, drummer Jimmy Macbride, award-winning, young jazz musicians from West Hartford, open Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. for the noted trumpeter Eddie Allen at the Arts Center Killingworth's caf?-style "Jazz NightOut" at the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton. The Macbrides are joined by bassist Matt Dwonszyk.
Allen, who has performed with such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie and Mongo Santamaria, leads a quartet featuring pianist Donald Vega, bassist Nat Reeves and the trumpeter's brother, drummer Carl Allen.
Don't look for telltale signs of sibling rivalry between the Allen brothers or between the Macbride sister and brother, only harmonious, jazz sibling revelry.
Alma Macbride, who attends Choate Rosemary Hall School in Wallingford, won the first Jazz at Lincoln Center Mary Lou Williams Competition, and received scholarships for the Stanford Jazz Residency, Skidmore JazzWorkshop and Grammy Camp in Los Angeles. Alma, who also plays flute, has been a member of the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra and recently performed in the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival Piano Prodigy Series. Jimmy Macbride attends the Juilliard School in New York City. Information: 860-663-5593 and http://www.artscenterkillingworth.org.
Duo Jumbo Gumbo
Source: http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music-reviews/hc-riffs-0216-20120216,0,7284804.story?track=rss
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