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Enrico

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Enrico Granafei Harmonica virtuoso, classical guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, composer Enrico Granafei has a long history of musical experience which encompasses both Classical Music and Jazz. Enrico received a degree in classical guitar from the Conservatory of l..Aquila in Italy in 1976. His artistic career started in Rome where he soon became known in the musical community.In 1978 Enrico moved to Germany where he began to perform and to teach in two different "Musikschulen". In the early 80..s, after returning to Italy, Enrico started to broaden his horizons by discovering Jazz through the harmonica. Following in the tradition of the legendary Toots Thielemans, he began to explore new possibilities for the harmonica, an instrument too often associated solely with Rock and Blues. Besides playing in the best jazz clubs in Italy during that period, Enrico performed regularly on national television where he was a member of the Pippo Caruso orchestra.His love for Jazz led him to New York City, the world capital of Jazz, where he soon started to perform in local jazz clubs, including The Blue Note, Birdland, Visiones, Angry Squire, and the Bottom Line. During the 20 years that he has resided in the New York area, he has performed extensively on the Chromatic Harmonica in the United States and continued to be a featured musician in major European Festivals, including Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), Euromeet Jazz Festival (Italy), Jazz Festivals throughout Italy and France, and major clubs throughout Europe. In 1992 Enrico graduated with a Masters.. degree in Jazz Performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he was the only student of Toots Thielemans.Enrico has been the owner and musical director of the prestigious Trumpets Jazz Club in Montclair, New Jersey (USA), the most important Jazz venue in the state, since 1999. He continues to perform at that venue and at other important jazz venues throughout the United States and Europe, as well as to record as a leader and sideman. He is one of the most respected players of the Chromatic Harmonica in the world today and continues to cultivate an audience for the instrument through his international performances.Enrico..s latest accomplishment is his work on Hands-Free-Chromatic Harmonica. The revolutionary instrument invented by Vern Smith allows him to play Chromatic Harmonica and Guitar at the same time, something that nobody has ever done before in Jazz. Close your eyes and you will hear two or three musicians but in fact it..s only one!

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Member Since: 3/21/2007
Band Website: trumpetsjazz.com
Band Members: Enrico Granafei - Guitar, Voice, Chromatic Harmonica and also Hands Free Chromatic Harmonica played with guitar
Influences: His latest release on Miles High Records, In Search Of the Third Dimension features Enrico on HFC ( Hands-Free Chromatic Harmonica) and Guitar. The revolutionary and yet simple instrument invented by Vern Smith allows him to play chromatic harmonica and guitar simultaneously, something which no jazz musician has ever done before.
Comments on IN SEARCH OF THE THIRD DIMENSION:
"Innovative, intelligent , soulful" --- Stanley Jordan
"For many years I have appreciated Enrico both as a classical guitarist and a jazz harmonica player, but what he does playing the two instruments at the same time is absolutely amazing." --- Bucky Pizzarelli
"Enrico shares his gifts both on the guitar and the harmonica ( amazingly played at the same time)in this nice combination of standards and Brazilian repertoire. With his swinging bass lines and comping he simultaneously plays and sings melodies from the heart and his passion for the music shines through." --- Gene Bertoncini
"For more than 50 years the problem of how to push the button of a chromatic harmonica while playing guitar was never far from my thoughts. I tried numerous Rude Goldberg mechanisms involving a foot pedal. In 2000 I was elated to discover that a 4 mm vertical motion of the mouthpiece could accomplish the function of the button. Enrico recognized the value of this solution and shared my ideas of the musical possibilities that it opened. As an early adapter, he patiently suffered through some crude models while I improved the initial design. Already a virtuoso on both, he mastered the coordination of these musically complementary but mechanically different instruments. His technique has risen to levels that I did not even begin to anticipate." --- Vern Smith, inventor of the HFC
"Enrico Granafei is something else than a harmonica player. He’s an artist who can do with this simple instrument everything in every key. He also has an education both in classical guitar and jazz , which brings a lot of extra perspective in his groovy, personal way of making interesting high class jazz." --- Jyrki Kangas ( bass player, initiator and musical director of the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland)
"How do you manage to play the harmonica, accompany yourself on the guitar and do incredible singing all at the same time?" --- Horace Ott, Record Producer, Arranger, Conductor, Composer,Pianist ( YMCA, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood)
“I did a double take when I saw Enrico performing at the IAJE convention. This was no ordinary case of a harmonica player who also plays guitar. I know that the Hohner chromatic harmonica requires two hands, but he was playing sophisticated music on it with no hands (!), while laying down on guitar the chord progressions for standards and Brazilian songs. This could be the start of something big for harmonica players everywhere!” --- Lewis Porter, Ph.D., jazz pianist, professor (Rutgers-Newark) and author
"Amazing technique. Never seen anything like this before, he’s a mo@%er" --- Ted Curson , Trumpets Player ( Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor)
"You would think you are dreaming! With an incredible virtuosity Enrico Granafei plays harmonica ( a model conceived by Vern Smith) and classical guitar simultenously allowing himself the luxury of singing occasionally ( tasty scatting on You’d be So Nice To Come Home To) Here is an overly talented musician whose musicality and richness of inspiration are truly out of the ordinary. An accomplished guitarist, with elegant phrasing and impeccable technique, Enrico Granafei absolutely deserves the admiration of his fellow musicians like Stanley Jordan, Bucky Pizzarelli and Gene Bertoncini. He’s also a harmonica virtuoso whose creativity reminds us of the famous Toots Thielemans of whom he was a student. On this CD he offers real personal renditions of American and Brazilian Standards, among which I’d like to mention Out of Nowhere where his Guitar accompaniment ( chords and bass lines) is amazing both in terms of technique and inspiration , and also Wave where he sublimates the melody. Absolutely astonishing all the way." --- Claude Oberg ( Dictionary of Jazz)
Sounds Like: http://www.myspace.com/enricogranafei
Record Label: Trumpets Records/ Miles High Records
Type of Label: Indie