A Cole Porter Valentines featuring Konrad Paszkudski and Pasquale Grasso

Cole Porter and the Great American Songbook

JazzBuffalo is pleased to present award-winning Konrad Paskudski and Pasquale Grasso coming to the Canterbury Wood Performing Arts Center.

Saturday, February 17, 2024

7:30 pm

Get Tickets Soon!

Do not miss two remarkable jazz artists who deliver a captivating program featuring the love songs of Cole Porter and the timeless classics of the Great American Songbook.  A perfect night out and a way to celebrate the love spirit of Valentine’s Day.

After receiving his jazz piano education in his native Australia, Konrad Paszkudski relocated to the U.S. where he embarked on extensive tours alongside jazz legends such as trumpeter James Morrison and the John Pizzarelli Quartet. Within a span of just four years, he led over 1,000 performances.

Konrad will be joined by the 2021-2023 Downbeat Rising Star jazz guitarist, Pasquale Grasso, one of the most remarkable jazz guitarists to emerge on the jazz scene.

Both artists, celebrated for their dexterity on their respective instruments, take pride in delivering performances characterized by their clean, graceful, and toe-tapping execution. When this duo plays, it’s akin to a swinging celebration of sophisticated, melodious dueling, as Paszkudzki and Grasso continuously exchange musical lines. The outcome is a fiery rendition of straight-ahead jazz imbued with melodic elegance and nonchalant grace—a fitting tribute to the jazz greats.

Don’t miss a captivating live performance of two of our next-generation premier jazz artists. Witness the unparalleled talents of pianist Konrad Paszkudzki and guitarist Pasquale Grasso, two gifted virtuosos whose musical chemistry ignites the stage. Be enthralled by a dazzling display of creativity and innovation as they push each other to new heights, intertwining their instruments in a mesmerizing dance of harmonies and rhythms. With their masterful improvisations and dynamic interplay, these jazz maestros will transport you to a realm of musical brilliance that leaves audiences spellbound.

Hailed by Jazz Times as “a rising-star pianist,” Australian-Polish musician Konrad Paszkudzki began his musical journey at the tender age of 15 when he began his studies at the University of Perth. He completed his undergraduate degree by the age of 18 and swiftly established himself as a leading figure in the Australian jazz scene. Notably, he became the first pianist to win the James Morrison Scholarship in 2008, an accolade praised by James Morrison himself, who described Konrad as simply “Jazz.”

After relocating to the United States in 2009, Konrad obtained his master’s degree at the University of Miami, and he subsequently shared the stage with esteemed acts such as the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Jeff Hamilton Trio before making his home in New York. In the city that never sleeps, he led the house trio at New York’s 54 Below and joined the John Pizzarelli Quartet in 2013. Over the years, Konrad has graced the stage in over 1,000 performances with Pizzarelli, participating in extensive tours across Asia, Brazil, Canada, and Europe. He has performed at prestigious venues and jazz clubs worldwide, including New York’s Café Carlyle, Bemelman’s, Birdland, The Blue Note, The Standard, and Dizzy’s Club CocaCola. He has also left his mark on stages like DC’s Blues Alley, The Palm Beach Colony, Jazz Alley, The Venetian Room, The Montreal Jazz Festival, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Ronnie Scott’s.

Pasquale Grasso

In a remarkable endorsement that most emerging guitarists can only dream of, jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny made a profound statement during an interview with Vintage Guitar magazine in 2016. When asked to name some younger musicians who had impressed him, Metheny didn’t hold back: “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso,” he declared. “This guy is something so amazingly musical and so difficult… 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, born and raised in Italy’s Campania region, honed his jazz technique and melded it with classical refinement during his studies at the Conservatory of Bologna. Today, Grasso shares his knowledge through teaching and maintains a busy performance schedule in New York, including frequent solo appearances at the popular Greenwich Village venue, Mezzrow.

Together, these two remarkable artists make the music of the Great American Songbook an emotional experience for audiences worldwide.