DAVE SCHROEDER & ANTONIO FIGURA IN CONCERTO

DAVE SCHROEDER

Multi-reed player, Dave Schroeder has mastered a broad range of instruments including the chromatic harmonica, alto clarinet, alto and bass flutes, sopranino saxophone, blues harp and penny whistle.

For over a decade, his main musical focus has been dedicated to Combo Nuvo, but he has also has performed and/or recorded with such iconic jazz artists as Teo Macero, Toots Thielemans, Airto Moreira, Oscar Cartro-Neves, Kenny Werner, Don Friedman, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, to name a few.

As Director of Jazz Studies at NYU, Dave Schroeder is continually developing an interactive environment between students, artist/faculty and the jazz community thriving in and around New York City. Schroeder’s vision for jazz education combines theory and practice, taking advantage of NYU’s proximity and interaction with legendary jazz clubs and other music industry opportunities located within New York City and around the world. As the Director for Steinhardt Music’s dedicated Study Away sights at NYU Paris and NYU Prague, his students gain confidence in pursuing international careers in music.

Aside from his scholarly interests in jazz history, jazz theory, arranging, composition and performance practices, Schroeder is the creator and host of the NYU Jazz Interview Series, a video series produced for historical research and archival purposes. This series available for viewing on the NYU Steinhardt Jazz YouTube Channel.

Schroeder is also the artistic director for Combo Nuvo, the NYU Jazz Faculty in Residence Ensemble featuring jazz artist/faculty Lenny Pickett, Billy Drewes, Rich Shemaria, Brad Shepik, Mike Richmond and John Hadfield. The group appears regularly at landmark New York City jazz venues including the Blue Note Jazz Club and Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, and has been featured with the Costa Rica National Symphony, The United Arab Emirates and the Morin Khuur Ensemble; the National Symphony of Mongolia.

ANTONIO FIGURA

Pianist, Composer, Educator born in 1972 in Siracusa, Sicily, Italy.

Among the major emerging artists in Italian music scene. Virtuoso pianist, eclectic, lyrical and versatile, his music combines with great sensitivity the tradition of European and Afro-American music.

“Antonio has a definite personality and his pianism has characteristics very defined.” (Piacentino)

In his aesthetic world there are Paul Bley’s influences, who is perhaps the most obvious reference, Bill Evans and, further back, up to Teddy Wilson. Great masters who he knew to internalize to build a personal style. His pages are well laid out, with a great sense of space. (Gerlando Gatto)

“Antonio knows how to exploit the dynamics qualities of the piano, and he honors the space between the notes. He’s achieved a truly timeless trio sound that really gives your imagination space to wander.” (Soweto Kinch)

“Beautiful sounds from pianist Antonio Figura, a player who’s got a great sense of space, and who really knows how to keep us waiting breathlessly for each new note! Figura’s definitely of the Bill Evans school, but also has a more modern approach too, one that draws from a real 21st Century take on jazz piano, that sense of flow and almost blocks of sound that we love…” (Dusty Groove America)

His amazing music feeling has seen him perform with many diverse artists from around the world like: Dave Schroeder, Mike Richmond, Lenny White, William Lenihan, Dave Pietro, Cleveland Watkiss, Shane Forbes, Jean Philippe Morel, Evan Parker, Paul Lytton, Barry Guy, Tom Kennedy, Vicente Archer, Kendrick Scott, Freddie Washington, Steve Davis, Tommy Crane, Eric Markowitz, Dave Stone, Paula Morelenbaum, Neney Santos, Paolo Damiani, Lucrezio de Seta, Ettore Fioravanti, Massimo Pinca, Francesco Puglisi, Michele Salgarello, Marco Valeri, Luca Bulgarelli, Lorenzo Tucci, Pietro Ciancaglini, Rosario Giuliani, Max Ionata, Paolo Recchia, Massimiliano Rolff, Rachel Golub, Victor Schultz, Orlando Wells, Paul Brentley, Marc Phaneuf, Billy Drewes, Frank Vacin…

In 2014 Antonio was included in the Italian Jazz Dictionary by Flavio Caprera and published by Feltrinelli.

Video – David Schroeder & Antonio Figura discuss their recording “Been Here and Gone”.

https://youtu.be/4Mxm1qr_5oU