Jazz Articles about Jay D'Amico

The Jay D'Amico Trio: Nocturne: Jazz Under Glass

by Jack Bowers
June 25, 2010

Pianist Jay D'Amico neatly straddles two musical worlds, those of jazz and classical, embodying the best of each on Nocturne, whose subtitle--"Jazz Under Glass"--explicitly describes D'Amico's singular point of view. All of the compositions and arrangements are his, and they are invariably melodic and tasteful while at the same time underlining such essential Jazz components as spontaneity and swing, albeit with a perceptible classical veneer.

Even though much of the music is temperate and easygoing, D'Amico keeps it interesting by ...

Jay D'Amico: Tuscan Prelude

by Francis Lo Kee
January 17, 2009

Tuscan Prelude is Jay D'Amico's fourth recording as a leader. Though talk of a combination of classical music and jazz might conjure up sonic images of the Modern Jazz Quartet, a comparison to John Lewis, wouldn't do credit to either D'Amico or Lewis, in spite of the fact that both have a fast, accurate, but delicate touch on the keys. Another pianist, however, whose approach might tangentially resemble D'Amico's could be Vince Guaraldi, both sharing a penchant for direct melodic ...

The Jay D'Amico Trio: Tuscan Prelude: Jazz Under Glass

by Jerry D'Souza
September 2, 2008

Italy was the source of inspiration that gave semblance to composer, arranger and pianist Jay D'Amico's 2001 recording of Ponte Novello (CAP). He went back to Italy and, as with the earlier visit, found that he was stimulated enough to write more music.

D'Amico became interested in playing the piano after listening to the music of Frederick Chopin and drawn to jazz after seeing an Oscar Peterson performance on television. While his compositions are redolent of his classical bent D'Amico ...

The Jay D'Amico Trio: Tuscan Prelude: Jazz Under Glass

by Jack Bowers
August 30, 2008

Some years ago I reviewed Ponte Novello (CAP, 2001) by pianist Jay D'Amico's trio (augmented on four tracks by a string section), and was impressed by the way in which he transposed operatic arias by Puccini, Bellini and Verdi, among others, to the jazz idiom, leaving their inherent beauty intact while proving that those masters have much to say to a contemporary audience if their music is prudently amended under the proper circumstances.

Tuscan Prelude is a collection of original ...