“When Pete Malinverni plays, the people listen”, observed Patricia
O’Haire in the New York Daily News. That’s no mean feat in the Mecca of
Jazz. Since coming to New York in 1981 Pete has established himself as a
highly respected presence in NYC and national concert performances, as
well as abroad in Europe, South America, and Japan, his work earning him
entry in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, as compiled by Ira
Gitler and Leonard Feather. Writing in the Charleston (SC) Post and
Courier, Jack McCray called him “a fiery but elegant pianist”, and his
varied collaborations stand as testament to his abilities. Pete’s
enthusiastic audience has found him on stages in NYC and around the
world such as the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Caramoor
Festival, Symphony Space, Rome’s Jazz and Image Festival at Villa
Celimontana, Chile’s Santiago Jazz Festival and clubs such as Birdland,
the Blue Note, Bradley’s, etc. Most often playing solo piano or with his
trio, Pete has also appeared with the likes of Joe Lovano, Charles
Davis, Vernel Fournier, Mel Lewis and other bright lights, exhibiting
what Enso Fresia of Italy’s Musica Jazz called “an extremely
unconstrained and brilliant pianism”.
March 2006 saw the heralded release of “Theme and Variations”, a highly
anticipated solo piano release on Reservoir Music, which garnered four
stars in Down Beat Magazine, earning it honors as one of the best jazz
albums of 2006 and like-minded reviews in many other publications, such
as JazzTimes, Cadence Jazz, The Buffalo News, All About Jazz, Jazz
Improv, etc. Among Pete’s many earlier releases, “The Tempest”, in 2004,
“Autumn in New York” in 2003 and “Of One Mind” in 2001, received like
acclaim.
His life in music began at age seven in his hometown of Niagara Falls,
NY, where he studied classical piano with local legend Laura Copia. He
continued in NYC with Elena Belli, Anthony Newman and Sophia Rosoff.
Pete himself is now a teacher much in demand, serving as Professor on
the Jazz Studies faculty of the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music and
leading clinics and master classes worldwide.
Dave McElfresh said in Jazz Now that “Malinverni’s writing makes as much
of
an impact as his playing”. A composer of great depth, passion, and
individuality, he has received grants from the National Endowment for
the Arts and the Meet the Composer Foundation. His trio was featured in
a concert for Chamber Music America at New York’s Symphony Space in
early 2003. Not only have his vehicles for jazz improvisation been
described by Gary Giddins in the Village Voice as “knotty and original”,
but musicians and public alike agree with McElfresh in Jazz Now that
Malinverni’s ballad “This Time”, the title track of his third recording
as leader, is “truly the stuff standards are made of”.
Since 1993 Pete has served as Minister of Music at the Devoe Street
Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY, exposing him to the music of the
African-American church, and his suites for vocal choir and jazz quartet
based on the Psalms of David, demonstrate his abilities as a composer on
a grander scale. His June 2006 release “Joyful!”, an ArtistShare CD/DVD,
documents this new and exciting form of music. Highlighted and reviewed
favorably in Down Beat, JazzTimes, Jazziz and many other jazz
publications, “Joyful!” also “crossed over” to media of wider reach,
including features on several nationally heard NPR shows and national
print publications such as the Los Angeles Times, the Portland (OR)
Skanner the Montreal Mirror and the Pittsburgh Tribune.
In his four-star Down Beat review, Paul de Barros said,
“Pete Malinverni doesn’t seem capable of playing a dishonest line”, and
it is this unaffected, pure approach to music of real depth which draws
audiences and students alike to Malinverni’s appearances. Through the
release of Pete’s nine recordings as leader, “Don’t Be Shy”, “The
Spirit”, “This Time”, “A Very Good Year”, “Of One Mind”, “Autumn In New
York”, “The Tempest”, “Joyful!” and “Theme and Variations”, one views
the development of what Stuart Troup, in a feature article in New York
Newsday, has called “a supple player, full of nuance”.
"Joyful!" is the CD and
companion DVD of a live concert recording of Pete Malinverni's music for
Gospel Choir and Jazz Ensemble. It features the Devoe Street Baptist
Church Choir of Brooklyn, NY and a host of great singers and players,
including Yvette Glover, Jody Sandhaus, Afua Monk-Addo, Steve Wilson,
Joe Magnarelli, Todd Coolman and many others. The music is a suite for
Gospel Choir and Jazz Ensemble based on the Psalms Of David.
To buy this CD visit
here!
Make A Joyful Noise
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Let The Earth Shake
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Other Pete Malinverni CD audio samples |
Other Pete Malinverni CD audio
samples |
The Tempest
Let The Sea Roar Psalm 98
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This Time
Psalm 100
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To purchase these CD or
for other CD's/ info about Pete Malinverni visit:
www.petemalinverni.com
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