On March 17 at the Sarasota Jazz Festival, guitarist Diego Figueiredo joined with legendary pianist Dick Hyman to electrify the crowd with duo versions of three Antonio Carlos Jobim tunes, along with Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are”, the traditional Irish folk song, “Danny Boy”, and Ernesto Lecuona’s “Malaguena”. For good measure, Figueiredo added a solo performance of Zequinha de Abreu’s “Tico Tico”.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 7, Figueiredo (photo above) will perform with another jazz veteran, trumpeter Warren Vache, at the New Jersey Jazz Society’s Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert at the Madison, NJ, Community Arts Center.
In 2020, Figueiredo was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals, for “Marry Me A Little” on the Cyrille Aimee Mack Avenue album, Move On: A Sondheim Adventure. In his review of Figueiredo’s 2022 Arbors album, Follow the Signs, Edward Blanco of AllAboutJazz, described him as “one of the finest acoustic guitarists in the world. A classically-trained musician influenced by Brazilian masters Joao Gilberto and Baden Powell,” Blanco continued, “he has also integrated the styles of American guitarists George Benson, Pat Metheny, and the great Joe Pass into his playing.”
DownBeat’s Frank Alkyer wrote that Figueiredo “weaves magic over the fretboard, demonstrating his command of the instrument and his art. The music of Diego Figueiredo has the ability to take your breath away in so many ways.”
Vache is appearing this month at the Chicken Fat Ball in Maplewood , NJ, and was one of the performers at NJJS’ 50th Anniversary Concert last October in Morristown, NJ. The New York Times’ John S. Wilson once wrote of his “gorgeously warm tone”, adding that he “adds rough-toned vitality to the brass section.”
There will also be an opening act of Rising Stars. Performers to be announced.
The Madison Community Arts Center is located at 10 Kings Road in Madison, NJ. Admission to this event will be $10 for members and $15 for non-members. There will be light refreshments for purchase. To order tickets, log onto https://madison-arts-and-culture-alliance.ticketleap.com/new-jersey-jazz-society-concert/. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.
Funding for the NJJS Socials has been made possible, in part, by funds from Morris Arts though the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a partner agency of The National Endowment for the Arts.
This concert is generously sponsored by Rachel Domber/Arbors Records.
PHOTO BY CAROL LO RICCO