Adrian Galante

Adrian Galante is a multifaceted, exciting, young multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer whose remarkable command of his craft belies his youth.

At a recent appearance at New York’s legendary Birdland Jazz Club, where Galante was accompanied by Jazz luminaries Alan Broadbent, Jay Leonhart and Obed Calvaire, reviewer Andrew Portez described Galante as “...an extraordinary musician who appears to be equally gifted as a clarinettist as he is a pianist.” he continues “The young, handsome Galante is a soft-spoken, knowledgeable performer who knows his craft.. He demonstrated superb breath control, with long, legato lines. Galante’s exquisite lyrical playing created an emotionally satisfying close to one of the best sets this reviewer has heard in years.”

“Adrian Galante is a force… he is one of the greatest clarinetists ever” says bassiest Jay Leonhart “I have worked with most of the great clarinet players of the last century, including Benny Goodman, Buddy DeFranco, Artie Shaw, Ken Peplowski and Eddie Daniels. While Adrian Galante is still very young, he will surely become a member of this esteemed club in the years to come (you can’t join until you’re 40). As a pianist he can only be described as brilliant and imaginative”.

Adrian’s love for Jazz and the American songbook repertoire was ignited at an early age having had the great fortune of traveling to the United States to hear and spend time with jazz greats such as Tony Bennett, Marian McPartland, and Sonny Rollins.

Though initially drawn to the acrobatic playing of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and other clarinet virtuosi as a young student of the instrument, Galante soon found himself desiring to emulate the sounds of the great vocalists he heard.

“I’ve always been very influenced by great singers…” says Galante “I remember hearing Tony Bennett talk about the way Bing Crosby revolutionized popular singing, getting right up close up to the microphone making a very intimate sound…I like to approach the clarinet in the same way, using that principle of playing at a softer volume and really using the microphone to help illuminate all the very subtle nuances and details of the sound.”

“I’ve heard all the great jazz clarinet players and Adrian doesn’t really sound like any of them, he really has a sound all of his own” says music critic and co-author of Tony Bennett’s Autobiography, Will Friedwald. “He’s one of the few very young musicians of his age that seems to be comfortable with this notion of narrative form, he really gets what the songs are about and that’s something that usually comes much later in the development of musicians and singers, they don’t really tap into that emotional side, that passionate side, that erotic side until later on and it’s just another remarkable thing about Adrian and his music.”

Adrian’s upcoming debut album release Introducing Adrian Galante is set for release in early 2025. Recorded in Hollywood, California, the album features pianist Tamir Hendelman (known for his association with Barbra Streisand and the Jeff Hamilton trio) and longtime Drummer for Tony Bennett and Bill Evans final trio, Joe LaBarbera.