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Gary Versace

Since basing himself in New York City in June of 2002, jazz organist, pianist, and accordionist Gary Versace has quickly become one of the busiest and most versatile musicians on the scene, often featured in bands led by musicians such as John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Maria Schneider, Matt Wilson, Lee Konitz, Eliot Zigmund, Scott Wendholt, Joe Magnarelli, Danny Gottlieb, Seamus Blake, John Hollenbeck, Andy LaVerne, Adam Nussbaum, Brad Shepik, Ingrid Jensen, Tim Ries and many others.

Versace was voted a "rising star" on the Hammond organ in the last three Downbeat critics polls, and was the subject of a feature article in the July 2004 issue of Keyboard magazine.

Versace has been a featured soloist on several critically acclaimed recordings of recent years: accordionist on Maria Schneider's Grammy-winning recordings "Concert in the Garden" and "Sky Blue" and as the pianist on John Hollenbeck's Grammy-nominated large ensemble recording, "A Blessing."

Over the past five years, Versace has appeared as a leader for the Criss Cross and SteepleChase labels, and as a sideman on over 50 recordings with artists on various labels including Palmetto, ACT, Omnitone, Songlines, Pirouet, High Note, Justin Time, ArtistShare, Fresh Sound, Kind of Blue, and many others.

As a pianist, Versace performed in a two-piano recital with Marian McPartland, and in April of 1999 appeared on her acclaimed National Public Radio program, "Piano Jazz." McPartland has called him "...endlessly inventive...(Versace) really has an extraordinary talent."

Gary Versace has a masters degree in music performance from the Eastman School of Music, and spent eight years as a tenured associate professor in the jazz studies department at the University of Oregon. He remains active as a clinician and guest soloist both nationally and around the world.

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Album Review

Luzia von Wyl Ensemble: Frakmont

Read "Frakmont" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Frakmont, the latest offering from Swiss composer/pianist Luzia von Wyl and her ensemble, stands as a remarkable fusion of avant-garde jazz and classical finesse, crafting a sound universe that is at once groundbreaking and eternal. Each track unfolds like a story, told with meticulous care and fervent emotion, under the ensemble's cohesive unity and von Wyl's inspired direction. The musicians navigate through a variety of emotional terrains and sonic vistas, solidifying the ensemble's expertise in creating music that ...

8
Liner Notes

Joe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams

Read "Joe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


As Duke Ellington would often remind us, music comes in two varieties, that which is good and that which is bad. This suggests that genre and category are really of little concern and that overall quality is really the defining factor in considering the validity of any musical expression. Taking this axiom one step further, let me suggest that good music comes in assorted varieties. On one end of the spectrum you have music brimming with complex structures and technical ...

11
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: The Speed Of Time

Read "The Speed Of Time" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Not one to avoid concepts and ambitious outings, Andrew Rathbun's to-date masterpiece, The Atwood Suites (Origin Records, 2018), explored the poetry of his countrywoman, writer Margaret Atwood. In 2023, he tackles time. Time is a funny thing. Its perceived speed is malleable. It tends toward an increasing velocity as one moves into middle age and beyond. It can crawl at a snail's pace (during a root canal treatment, for example) and it can race ahead with wild abandon--that ...

3
Liner Notes

Jonathan Kreisberg: Night Songs

Read "Jonathan Kreisberg: Night Songs" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Although technical proficiency and filigreed improvisations often catch the attention of the average jazz fan, those in the know will insist that you can't really evaluate the mettle of a jazz musician until you hear how he interprets a ballad. Memorable efforts from the jazz cannon that fruitfully establish a reflective mood over the length of an album must include John Coltrane's Ballads, Kenny Dorham's Quiet Kenny, and Grant Green's Idle Moments. With six dates already as a ...

8
Album Review

Rudy Royston & Flatbed Buggy: DAY

Read "DAY" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Drummer Rudy Royston debuted his group Flatbed Buggy in 2018, with the eponymous Greenleaf Records release. It had the feeling of a jazz-folk chamber group. With its unusual instrumentation--Gary Versace's accordion, Hank Roberts' cello, and John Ellis' bass clarinet joining Royston's drums and Joe Martin's bass--a laid-back and engaging Americana vibe emerged. The follow-up, Day, is more of the same, with a bit more swing. With an ear towards the past, the sound recalls drummer Chico Hamilton's mid-50s ...

3
Album Review

New York Bass Quartet: Air

Read "Air" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Bassist Martin Wind is the real deal. Although he may not have the profile enjoyed by some of the bold-faced names in the profession such as Christian McBride, Ron Carter or Esperanza Spalding, he has built his reputation as a skilled, versatile player since emigrating to the US in 1995 to study at the NYU jazz program. While Wind's discography is not lengthy, he has done some commendable work with Bill Mays and Frank Kimbrough. This release Air puts the ...

8
Album Review

Kate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble: What to Wear in the Dark

Read "What to Wear in the Dark" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Being taken for granted is the greatest tribute and worst slight to any artist. Kate McGarry has made music that brilliantly colors outside the lines since her release, Show Me (Palmetto Records) in 2003 (there was a 1992 standards release, Easy To Love (Vital Records) that is out-of-print). Her career has provided five provocatively thoughtful and inventive recordings between that release and 2018's The Subject Tonight Is Love (Binxtown Records). Listeners have come to expect something a little different from ...

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1

Recording

Guitarist John Basile Releases 'Satisfied' with Gary Versace and Carmen Intorre, Jr.

Guitarist John Basile Releases 'Satisfied' with Gary Versace and Carmen Intorre, Jr.

Source: John Basile

Jazz enthusiasts are in for a treat as the highly-acclaimed jazz guitarist John Basile announces his 11th, much anticipated new release, Satisfied. The project brings together a stellar trio featuring the incomparable Gary Versace on Hammond B3 organ, and driving the rhythm forward is the impeccable Carmen Intorre Jr. on drums. The session features a captivating mix of original compositions and reinterpretations of classic jazz standards, each track meticulously crafted to evoke a full spectrum of emotion. “The chemistry and ...

348

Recording

The Claudia Quintet + Gary Versace - Royal Toast (2010)

The Claudia Quintet + Gary Versace - Royal Toast (2010)

Source: Something Else!

By PicoThe Claudia Quintet is an ensemble that goes by its own set of rules. With its slightly weird combination of vibes, accordion, sax, double-bass and drums, and songs that don't follow the script of how songs go (but avoids skronkery and dissonance), the five piece band is an anomaly of an anomaly. It all comes for the deviously clever composing mind of its drummer and leader, John Hollenbeck. Drummers from Art Blakey to Matt Wilson have led ...

267

Performance / Tour

Refuge Trio with Theo Bleckmann, John Hollenbeck and Gary Versace at Joe's Pub 1/13/07 at 7PM

Refuge Trio with Theo Bleckmann, John Hollenbeck and Gary Versace at Joe's Pub 1/13/07 at 7PM

Source: All About Jazz

"Expect the unexpected with the refuge trio, featuring the vocalist Theo Bleckmann, the drummer John Hollenbeck, and the keyboardist Gary Versace. Bleckmann and Hollenbeck have enough new-music, cabaret, and jazz chops to move the music in any direction they want, while Versace has lately been making big noise on his Hammond organ." - The New Yorker Refuge Trio takes its name from the Joni Mitchell song “Refuge of the Roads". The collaborative trio was formed to play at the 2002 ...

108

Performance / Tour

Will Sellenraad & Root Down LIVE @ Detour feat: Victor Lewis, Abraham Burton, Gary Versace(fri), Gary Wang(sat)

Will Sellenraad & Root Down LIVE @ Detour feat: Victor Lewis, Abraham Burton, Gary Versace(fri), Gary Wang(sat)

Source: All About Jazz

get down... Friday, May 20th 9:30pm 1:30am Detour 349 East 13th Street @ 1st Ave. NYC :: 212.533.6212 ***Will Sellenraad & Root Down*** **Abraham Burton- saxophone** **Will Sellenraad- guitar** **Gary Versace- organ** **Victor Lewis- drums** *** Saturday, May 21st 9:30pm 1:30am Detour 349 East 13th Street @ 1st Ave. NYC :: 212.533.6212 ***Will Sellenraad & Root Down***

103

Performance / Tour

Will Sellenraad & Root Down weekend extravaganza @ DETOUR NYC Feat: Eric McPherson & Gary Versace

Will Sellenraad & Root Down weekend extravaganza @ DETOUR NYC Feat: Eric McPherson & Gary Versace

Source: All About Jazz

***Will Sellenraad & Root Down*** **Will Sellenraad- guitar** **Gary Versace- organ** **Eric McPherson- drums** *** get down... Friday, January 28th 9:30pm 1:30am & Saturday, January 29th 9:30pm 1:30am Detour 349 East 13th Street @ 1st Ave. NYC :: 212.533.6212 *** Hey folks, please join us for a very special winter weekend engagement at our favorite spot in NYC! ...

256

Recording

Guitarist Sheryl Bailey Releases "Bull's Eye!" with Gary Versace and Ian Froman

Guitarist Sheryl Bailey Releases "Bull's Eye!" with Gary Versace and Ian Froman

Source: All About Jazz

Bull's Eye! - the newest release from guitarist, Sheryl Bailey. The much-anticipated follow up to her trio's smash debut, The Power of 3!.

Nine new compositions that allow the band to create their unique sound, and develop their special rapport and interaction. This is not your typical groove-based guitar/organ trio; this is a modern jazz power trio dedicated to expanding the post-bop language, from the lineage of the Grant Green/Larry Young/Elvin Jones sound.

Here she opens up with, “Old and ...

110

Performance / Tour

Will Sellenraad & Root Down, FRI & SAT @ Detour NYC. Feat... Gary Versace & Darren Beckett

Will Sellenraad & Root Down, FRI & SAT @ Detour NYC. Feat... Gary Versace & Darren Beckett

Source: All About Jazz

***Will Sellenraad & Root Down*** **Will Sellenraad- guitar** **Gary Versace- organ** **Darren Beckett- drums** *** get down... Friday, September 17th 9:30pm 1:30am Saturday, September 18th 9:30pm 1:30am Detour 349 East 13th Street @ 1st Ave. NYC :: 212.533.6212 *** Hey folks, please join us for a very special fall weekend engagement at our favorite spot in NYC! We ...

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"...(Versace) has recently been making big noise around town (NYC) with his Hammond organ..." - The New Yorker.

"I love unusual harmony, and (Versace) has got some very thoughtful and different ideas about chord structure. He is endlessly inventive. He does a lot of fresh things - he really has an extraordinary talent." - jazz pianist and NPR radio host Marian McPartland.

"...a star on the rise - clearly someone to watch..." - All About Jazz.

"Versace is a member of that new breed of organists extending the tradition in their own personal way." - Cadence Magazine.

"...adventurous, joyous...Versace's very light, deft touch was featured sufficiently to showcase his wide ranging influences and phenomenal technique." - Times Colonist (Victoria, B.C.)

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

DAY

Greenleaf Records
2024

buy

Frakmont

Lu Records
2024

buy

Satisfied

Springtime Jazz
2023

buy

The Speed Of Time

SteepleChase Records
2023

buy

Air

LAIKA Records
2022

buy

Straight Punches

From: Satisfied
By Gary Versace

(Give Me Some) G-String

From: Air
By Gary Versace

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