The Bridge: Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks, Avalon Jazz Band, Aurora Nealand presented by the French Mission du Centenaire of WWI, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and New York Hot Jazz Festival

A celebration of Parisian and New York Hot Jazz, Swing & Ragtime in commemoration of WWI and the cross pollination of French and US culture

Vince Giordano

Vince Giordano has long been a top name in the jazz world. Born and raised in New York, he is a Grammy-winning musician that fluidly moves from one jazz-based instrument to the next. His passion for music dates back to when he was merely five years old, when he began amassing an assortment of 60,000 band arrangements, 1920s & ‘30s films, 78 recordings and jazz-age memorabilia. Obsessed with replicating the authentic sound of this period, he tracked down some of the era’s pioneers, including Whiteman’s top arranger Bill Challis, drummer Chauncey Morehouse, and bassist Joe Tarto, and learned the craft directly from them. After years working in the industry as a highly coveted musician, Giordano set about forming his own band (originally called the New Orleans Nighthawks). Since then, they’ve played all over, including black tie galas at the NY Public Library, the Waldorf Astoria and the Rainbow Room. Giordano himself has been seen playing at virtually every NYC jazz club, and is a fixture in the business. He’s portrayed jazz artists from all different time periods in film and TV, such as The Cotton Club, The Aviator, Finding Forrester, Revolutionary Road(and many more star-powered films), and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (which he also contributed to the soundtrack of). A recent inductee into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, Giordano has given much lauded concerts at Town Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Newport Jazz Festival and the 92nd St. Y over the last four decades.

Tatiana Eva-Marie and the Avalon Jazz Band

Named a ‘rising jazz vocalist’ by Vanity Fair, the Franco-American Tatiana Eva-Marie steers the Avalon Jazz Band on a jaunty journey back in time, to the heyday of Parisian zazou and New York City’s Golden Age of swing. One listen to Eva-Marie and her smooth comrades, and you’re instantly transported to the 1930s and 40s, where swing was king and the classic jazz of France enchanted the night. Mingling these two flirty styles together, they create a melodious, internationally contoured pastiche, with tinges of Gypsy folk. For her green age, Eva-Marie is an accomplished performer, having played “Divas of the Silver Screen” at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Midsummer Night Swing Festival at Lincoln Center, NYC Winter Jazzfest, New York Hot Jazz Festival, “The Edith Piaf Centennial” at the Iridium, Carlyle, Joe’s Pub, The Rainbow Room Opening Night, French Embassy on Bastille Day, and New York City Opera gala at the Plaza. Current Avalon Jazz Band shows feature Eva-Marie on vocals, Adrien Chevalier (violin), Sara L’Abriola (guitar), Vinny Raniolo (guitar), Adrian Cunningham (reeds), Brandi Disterheft (bass), along with some select special guests. With Eva-Marie (who the Wall Street Journal also commended as “one of the best young singers around) at the helm, the Avalon Jazz Band devotedly tours all over, performing with a swinging and puckish spirit.

Aurura Nealand with her Royal Roses

Aurora Nealand is an established bandleader, composer, performer and improviser. Nealand grew up in a musical family in California listening to Preservation Hall Jazz Band recordings side by side with Stravinsky, Joan Baez and the Pixies, and later, she fell in love with the recordings of Mingus, the soundscapes of Mort Subotnik and the performances of Laurie Anderson. Nealand has become a prominent force in the New Orleans music scene since she first arrived in 2005. Combining the “formal education” – a music composition degree from Oberlin Conservatory and training at the Jacques Lecoq School of Physical Theatre in Paris –  with the “informal” experience of playing music in the streets and clubs of New Orleans and throughout the northern Hemisphere, Nealand has emerged as an innovative, sensitive and daring music creator and performer. She is most recognized for her performance on saxophones, clarinet and vocals and has been at the forefront of the revival of New Orleans Traditional Jazz. After playing in established New Orleans Bands for several years, (Panorama Jazz Band, VaVaVoom, The New Orleans Moonshiners), in 2010 she formed her own Traditional Jazz band “The Royal Roses.” The Royal Roses released its first album, “A Tribute to Sydney Bechet: Live at Preservation Hall” to national acclaim and Nealand was voted as one of Downbeat Magazine’s top rising stars for soprano saxophone from 2010 on.