Pasquale Grasso

 We are proud to release the fourth installment of guitar virtuoso Pasquale Grasso’s digital only EP series: Solo Holiday. The series – which includes Solo Standards, Vol. 1, Solo Ballads, Vol. 1, and Solo Monk which were all released this year this year – showcases him in the solo guitar format, where his intensive studies […]
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 We are proud to release the fourth installment of guitar virtuoso Pasquale Grasso’s digital only EP series: Solo Holiday. The series – which includes Solo Standards, Vol. 1, Solo Ballads, Vol. 1, and Solo Monk which were all released this year this year – showcases him in the solo guitar format, where his intensive studies of both the masters of bebop and classical guitar technique meld into a signature mastery that is, remarkably, at once unprecedented and evocative. The approach of the releases echoes the changing landscape in the industry, allowing a prolific recording artist to release a multitude of material over the course of an extended period of time.

Read Profiles on the Series in: JazzTimes & DownBeat

With Solo Holiday, Grasso’s gorgeous takes on yuletide classics draw upon his adoration for bebop — his “White Christmas” was inspired by Bird’s read — and perhaps the premier holiday-song interpreter of all time, Nat “King” Cole. (In fact, “The Christmas Song” borrows notions from both Cole’s definitive version and a rarity from bop progenitor Bud Powell.) The guitarist calls Cole another of his favorite pianists, and in his chord-melody arranging on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” and Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here,” he strives for the graceful perfection that marks the synergy between Cole’s voice and piano comping.