Join us in Ravenscroft Hall on Sunday, October 29th at 3:00pm as MSW Presents “2 Pianos, 6 Hands! Broadway & Hollywood” Featuring the masterful stylings of piano duo Paolo Alderighi and Stephanie Trick, alongside Phoenix’s legendary Nicole Pesce. These three powerhouses team up for a tribute to the best loved music of Broadway and Hollywood! In this special one-of-a-kind event, these six hands will thrill and entertain you, as well as serve to raise funds for the Arizona Classic Jazz Society, keeping jazz alive through live events, concert series, and educational opportunities for students. The society serves jazz lovers of all generations around Arizona.
100% of your ticket price will benefit the Arizona Classic Jazz Society and play an important part in keeping jazz alive and well in AZ.
PAOLO ALDERIGHI AND STEPHANIE TRICK
Stephanie Trick (St. Louis), a leading exponent of stride piano, and Paolo Alderighi (Milan), one of Italy’s foremost jazz pianists, met at a piano festival in Switzerland in 2008. Both have a background in classical piano. Stephanie graduated from the University of Chicago with a BA in music, and Paolo has a piano performance degree from Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. Three years after meeting, they started collaboration on a four-hands piano project dedicated to classic jazz, preparing arrangements of songs from the Swing Era, while drawing from the ragtime, and blues repertoire.
Their first project explored the formula of four-hands duets on one piano, rarely used in jazz. They recorded CDs “Two for One” (2012), and “Sentimental Journey” (2014). “Double Trio Live” (2015), and “Double Trio Always” (2016), were recorded in the piano trio setting. “Broadway and More” (2018) was their first album on two pianos. Their most recent project is “I Love Erroll, I Love James P.” (2020), a double album, featuring the compositions of two legendary figures of jazz piano, Erroll Garner and James P. Johnson.
Their dedication to jazz and the repertoire of early American popular music is accompanied in equal measure by a desire to share its rich history. They perform in schools and universities world-wide. Their programs include lectures, concert lessons for students of all ages, and master classes. A few of the topics they cover are “History of Jazz”, “Intersections of Jazz and classical music”, “Women in Jazz”, and “Ragtime”. Blending impeccable technique with mature musicality, this piano duo has performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia, at some of the world’s most extraordinary venues and festivals, winning the acclaim of critics and fans alike.
NICOLE PESCE – nicolepesce.com
Pianist, keyboardist, composer, and arranger Nicole Pesce entertains audiences with a unique blend of virtuosity, humor, and pizzazz.
Nicole began playing piano at age seven and, by age 10, had memorized over 500 songs. At age twelve, she won First place in the Discovery National Television Competition and appeared on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. For the next couple of years, she packed in an extensive US tour and a year-long residency in Las Vegas.
Since that time, Nicole has expanded her memorized repertoire to over 12,000 songs and is affectionately dubbed “the human iPod.” In Phoenix, the AZ Republic included Nicole on their list of “top ten musicians to hear in Phoenix.” For over a decade, she was featured as the headlining pianist at the Ritz Carlton, entertaining patrons with everything from Bach to Lady Gaga.
In 2016, “We 3” was formed with vocalist Renee Patrick and violinist Suzanne Lansford, the combination showing yet another facet of Nicole’s talent. This threesome has made quite an impression on local and international audiences, selling out shows from Phoenix’s MIM to La Chope Champerret in Paris.
Her extraordinary talent is not limited to playing piano. As a composer with a catalog of over 300 songs, Nicole has made a name for herself creating original music for documentaries and live events. Also, she offers several Master Classes for Arizona Music Fest’s Educational programs. Currently, Nicole presents virtual concerts to folks worldwide and maintains her busy performance schedule in the Phoenix, AZ, area.
ARIZONA CLASSIC JAZZ SOCIETY – http://www.azclassicjazz.org/
The Mission of the Arizona Classic Jazz Society is to perpetuate, promote and present the American art form known as jazz during the period in which the music was created and celebrated through such styles as Dixieland and Swing.
ACJS presents afternoon live jazz concerts throughout the year, presents live in-school learning opportunities, offers scholarships to music majors, and produces an annual 4-day Arizona Classic Jazz Festival featuring local and national jazz bands.
The Arizona Classic Jazz Society believes it is important to keep the original history that accompanies early jazz music alive for future generations. Through the presentation of live performances, they support artists and seek to inform, educate, and entertain both listeners and dancers and involve people of all ages, with a special emphasis on youth. ACJS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
