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| Nic Vardanega, New Beginning - ICYMI 6/23 Release Nominated for "Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year, " guitarist/composer Nic Vardanega is a voice on the international jazz scene. Currently based in New York City, he has played with many of Australia's leading musicians including pianist Mike Nock and alongside many first call New York City musicians. After completing a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2012, Nic worked extensively as a sideman and bandleader in Australia. He has appeared at many of the country's leading festivals including the Manly Jazz Festival, Noosa Jazz Festival and Darling Harbour Jazz Festival. In December 2014, Nic released his debut album as a leader titled Inverno - a collection of original music inspired by his Italian heritage with his Sydney quartet. The album was well received with a review in The Weekend Australian and a nomination in the prestigious Bells Australian Jazz Awards. Nic has been a longtime sideman and collaborator with pianist/composer Francesca Prihasti. In addition to performances worldwide, he has appeared on three of her studio recordings, Night Trip (2015), Evolving (2016) and Adriana (2019). Since relocating to New York City in 2016, Nic completed a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies at New York University after receiving a scholarship from the American Australian Association. His second recording as a leader, Point in Time, comprised a snapshot of his first years immersed in the U.S. scene and was released in 2019 featuring Grammy nominated American trumpeter Michael Rodriguez. His most recent recording, New Beginning, was recorded in 2022 as a trio outing with the empathetic rhythm section of Ben Allison on bass and Allan Mednard on drums. Set for release in mid-2023, Vardanega dedicates this album to the advent of a post pandemic world and in welcoming the arrival of his first child. New Beginning is the third album by Australian born guitarist/composer Nic Vardanega. A New York native for the past seven years, the leader's record title evokes the inspiration that spawned during the conception period of the project. Vardanega elaborates, "The notion of a new beginning seemed an appropriate theme for me at this time in my life. This record encapsulates the idea of a new beginning for all of us emerging from the pandemic, resuming our non-virtual lives and for me personally in becoming a father in 2022." The album comprises eight new compositions penned by Vardanega, performed as a trio alongside Ben Allison on bass and Allan Mednard on drums. "For a long time, I have wanted to make a trio record as many of my favorite albums have been guitar, bass and drums trios. On my last two quartet records I pared down the ensemble to feature this instrumentation for a few tracks but for this project I was envisioning the whole record being dedicated to the three-piece unit." The empathetic, adaptable and song-based playing of the group weaves a rich tapestry of moods across the program's duration and affords Vardanega the space as a composer and guitarist to deploy full command of his musical vision. "In many ways, I feel as though this record is the most personal, I have made. These eight tunes serve as honest, distilled representations of my musical identity while having the rapport and versatility of the trio with Ben and Allan frees me to shape the tunes how I want, taking the music in any direction." Tracks, Times 1. New Beginning 5:31 2. Cardenas 4:36 3. Side Effects 5:09 4. Looking Back 6:12 5. Inner Episode 4:31 6. Glass Moon 5:08 7. Summers 5:10 8. M's Lullaby 4:46 Total Time 41:06 Recorded at Big Orange Sheep, Brooklyn, New York, USA on May 18, 2022. Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Michael Perez-Cisneros. Players, Instrument: Nic Vardanega - guitar and compositions Ben Allison - bass Allan Mednard - drums write your comments about the article :: © 2023 Jazz News :: home page |