Pasquale Grasso

destinytot · 04-05-2015, 05:29 AM

**Frank67** · 04-05-2015, 11:15 AM

amazing player with outerwordly good technique. Very impressive indeed.

**docbop** · 04-05-2015, 01:11 PM

There is a long thread about him and his brother on another sites heres some of the other videos from that thread.

As a kid with his brother

Good close up of his hand work

The brothers together later in New York

More solo PG

PG with his new guitar

There is quite a bit of PG and his brother is you search around.

**David B** · 06-02-2015, 11:53 AM

I see from Facebook that Pasquale Grasso has a solo guitar recording, 'Reflections of Me', coming out this week.

**pubylakeg** · 06-19-2015, 08:19 PM

I've watched in fascination at this guys mind boggling technique. It's clear he knows the Bebop vocabulary backwards too.

Another clip, so you can marvel at the combination of a vintage Gibson ES-150 and Samick practice amp.

**targuit** · 06-27-2015, 02:25 AM

Yeah, he's ok....Wow! . New player to me. He has a few videos on YT and apparently a new CD coming out.

As I struggle to keep up with Pasquale without slow down software, I hear a few things in his playing. First of all, likely classical technique. Indeed, he has a video of him performing Villa Lobos Etudes. I have not listened yet, but certainly I will next. I'm listening to him playing in a quintet setting with two saxes, drums, bass playing "lester leaps in" superbly using a pick. Great rhythm player as well. Sounds like a major talent to me. Vola, Pasquale!

Apart from a pefect knowledge of the fretboard and chordal harmony, I think the "secret" to Paquale's speed and beautiful solo melodic playing is his use of classical i-m-a picking. Much of his beautiful solo speedy melodic runs come as descending movements using m-a and i-m-a style pulloffs. This guy makes me want to give in and get Transcribe. His lines are fast but guitaristic. Fabulous swinging playing. The Dary - Grasso quintet. Listening to Perdido now. Wonderful music and the joint is dancing and swinging. One of the sax players is likely his brother and plays his derriere off.

This is where we should go back to if we want jazz to survive as popular music. Get the limbs moving and the hormones racing.

**targuit** · 06-27-2015, 02:47 AM

Apparently he is playing this Sunday night at that club Mezzrow in the Big Apple. Solo guitar. I read up on his web site. Talent to watch blaze a trail.

**zdub** · 06-27-2015, 10:52 AM

Awesome guitarist, he obviously is a well rounded player and is impeccably clean. Some great double stops. This tune had a bit too much of fast scale runs for my taste but whatever - I love watching his left hand!

**Cunamara** · 06-27-2015, 12:47 PM

Man, that guy is not only good but he has the most stretchable left hand I have ever seen. I have big hands and he can reach 2 frets father than me at mid neck. And he is so confident and unperturbed.

**Melodic Dreamer** · 06-27-2015, 01:43 PM

Yea, I was looking at his hands too. I have smallish hands, and I was thinking his pinky is seriously as long as my middle finger. lol

I love that in spite of having chops to spare, he still sounds musical to my ears. Honestly, this cat is bad.

**targuit** · 06-27-2015, 02:34 PM

Did you listen to the quintet songs? He does an excellent job at comping. And his brother(s) are no slouches either.

**bluemusic4us** · 06-27-2015, 05:21 PM

I recognized one or two of those chords.

**disco~juice** · 06-28-2015, 08:12 AM

I bought his album couple days ago. He is a great player. Amazing technique. I didn't like his tone (his tone control must be at 0).

**Hyppolyte Bergamotte** · 06-28-2015, 05:21 PM

very impressive technique
HB

**ooglybong** · 06-29-2015, 05:51 PM

Here's a new video posted recently...

What a great player!

**David B** · 07-18-2015, 09:12 AM

I found that Pasquale Grasso is on this 2013 quartet recording under his brother Luigi's leadership:

Pasquale Grasso-image-jpg

It's on Spotify. Link: http://open.spotify.com/album/14BZsvoT6GWmJqYnx0WrD8

**Greentone** · 07-20-2015, 08:38 PM

Hey, Grasso is good. It's like watching Gene Bertoncini and listening to Tal Farlow at the same time...know what I mean? He sounds TF-bop-ish, to me. The runs and reaches remind me of Tal when he was that age. The technique--applied to jazz--is like GB...monumentally good classical chops.

The risk for a guy like Grasso is that he will get lambasted by the same critics that slagged folks like Oscar Peterson or Wynton Marsalis. When somebody comes along who has prodigious classical chops they get labelled as having no "feeling" or no "soul." Peterson labored under that charge his entire career.

Meanwhile, Grasso sounds quite good, to me, on the "Yesterdays" clip.

**pingu** · 07-20-2015, 09:11 PM

Originally Posted by zdub

Awesome guitarist, he obviously is a well rounded player and is impeccably clean. Some great double stops. This tune had a bit too much of fast scale runs for my taste but whatever - I love watching his left hand!

yeah his left hand is a music machine !
his pinky is so strong ... incredable
and his brother on alto ... wow

**xuoham** · 07-27-2015, 12:20 AM

Grasso is scary technically ! Just saw the video posted above (in the "thunk" thread) and he killed it !

I didn't know he is as skillful on classical guitar too ... omg ... lol

So not only has he a machine like left hand, but his right hand is phenomenal too, from classical rest strokes to playing with a pick near the neck pu with the elbow floating ... ouch ! What a technical beast !

Originally Posted by Greentone

The risk for a guy like Grasso is that he will get lambasted by the same critics that slagged folks like Oscar Peterson or Wynton Marsalis. When somebody comes along who has prodigious classical chops they get labelled as having no "feeling" or no "soul." Peterson labored under that charge his entire career.

I understand there could be lots of jealousy around him.

I used to think that Sylvain Luc is the most advanced player technically ( and anyway to me he is my fav, idea and taste wise) but Grasso is a true phenomenon.

Like Julian Lage, i guess it takes a whole childhood on guitar and hours of daily practise.

Somehow, i'm glad i'm already 50 yo and never thought i myself as a jazz guitarist, i would be worried, lol !

But this is a good lesson. whoever one encounters, whatever level, the point is to stick to one's hearty path and stay true to music.

In spite of Gillespie, thank god, we had Miles ...

**JazzMuzak** · 12-29-2015, 02:56 PM

I've just recently discovered this guy and am obsessed with his approach....Does anybody have any insight into his technique or approach?

So far I've discovered:

+ He uses a lot of the Barry Harris method for comping

+ He uses "Chuck Wayne Picking" (What is this apart from sweeping or economy picking?)

+ He studied with one of Chuck Wayne's disciples

+ He studied classical guitar

I'm just floored by how articulate and smooth everything is. His playing is like a Saxophone and Piano combined. I'm just wondering if at this point in my development it would even be worth it to work towards playing and learning his sort of concepts. It might sort of be like reinventing the wheel.

I guess I'd have to worry about finding somebody that could show me the Chuck Wayne approach to things first..certainly nobody around my parts plays like this.