Alessio Menconi is coming back to the UK! Don’t miss these absolute virtuosos. They are amongst some of the most impressive guitarists you will ever hear. Sparks will be flying!
Alessio Menconi – Guitar Nigel Price – Guitar Joel Barford – Drums Mikele MonTolli – Double Bass (Jamie Murray drums on July 4th)
July
4th Eastside Jazz Club, Leytonstone. £12 8pm. https://www.eastsidejazzclub.co.uk/…/nigel-price…/ 5th 606 Club, Fulham. £15. 8pm. https://www.606club.co.uk/…/alessio-menconi-feat-nigel…/ 6th Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham. £16. 7pm. https://peggysskylight.co.uk/…/alessio-menconi-nigel…/ 7th Italian Embassy,London. By appointment only. https://amblondra.esteri.it/en/ 8th Swanage Jazz Festival. Sandpit Field. 5pm. https://swanagejazzfestival.co.uk/main-programme-2023/
Alessio Menconi
Alessio Menconi is an Italian guitarist born in Genoa in 1970. He approached guitar when he was 10. Being considered particularly talented, in 1986 he started a professional career with some of the best Italian musicians of the times. In 1992 he won the “Best Soloist Award” at the Gran Prix du Jazz. In 1993 he took part to the “Eddie Lang Festival Contest” (the most important Italian competition for guitarists), winning the first prize as best Italian jazz guitarist.
He played in over 40 countries around Europe, Asia, Africa, North,America and Latin America and recorded in over 40 albums with several musicians. From 1995 to 2004 he played in every world tour of the Italian songwriter Paolo Conte. He also recorded with him 4 studio albums. In those years he went on tour with Billy Cobham. He has also been selected to play with “ONJ” (Orchestre National du Jazz – Paris). In 2003, he was the only Italian musician to play on the album “Voodoo Crossing – A tribute to Jimi Hendrix” with Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Hiram Bullock, Larry Coryell and many others. He started playing on his own for his solo project, and with his own trio with whom he released an album. He is a jazz guitar teacher at the Genoa Music Conservatory “Paganini” and wrote four books about jazz guitar.In 2009 he won the “Jazz lighthouse” Career Award. In 2011 he was the only Italian musician included in a cd compilation of the world best jazz guitarists. In the same year, the “Jazz It” magazine put his record “Sketches of Miles” among the Best 100 Jazz Records of the World.
He played in some of the most important national and international festivals:
Italy, Switzerland, France, Uk, Spain, Austria, Greece, Macedonia, Russia, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, Germany, Poland, Croatia, South Africa, Zambia, Israel, Palestine, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, India, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Usa and Canada.
Some of the most important musicians he played with:
Billy Cobham, Paolo Conte, Jeff Berlin, Jimmy Cobb, Toninho Horta, Shawnn Monteiro, Marcio Montarroyos, Stefano Bollani, Danny Gottlieb, Enrico Rava, Tullio De Piscopo, Daniel Humair, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Red Holloway, Franco Cerri, Aldo Romano, Gary Husband, Paolo Fresu, Carl Anderson, Franco Ambrosetti, Gary Bartz and many others
Nigel Price– Biography 2023
Nigel, who led his band – the Nigel Price Organ Trio – to pick up the 2010 Parliamentary Jazz Award for ‘best jazz ensemble’ is one of the most highly regarded and in demand guitarists on the UK jazz scene today.
He spent three years with UK funk legends – the James Taylor Quartet, was voted No.1 in the British Jazz Awards for “best guitarist” (the trio also won ‘best small group’ that year) and is also a regular performer at Ronnie Scott’s, where he’s played over 600 times.
His blend of flowing bebop lines and deep blues feeling has made him popular with jazz, blues and funk audiences across the World.
The organ trio is his main vehicle, which delivers a hard hitting, immediate and undiluted message. This band has toured the UK 13 times, establishing itself as one of the most prolific British jazz bands of the 21st century.
Nigel has also turned hs hand to promoting, having stepped in to ensure the Swanage jazz festival stayed afloat in 2017 (going on to be the Director in 2018) as well as running Shepperton Jazz Club for 2 years.
In 2022 he set up the charity ‘Grassroots Jazz’ which gives financial assistance to ailing UK jazz clubs, in the aftermath of Covid and the effect it had on the jazz scene.
He is regarded as an expert on the touring industry and regularly runs seminars and online advice sessions to help musicians with ambitions to tour.
He was nominated for a ‘Services to Jazz’ award in the 2022 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
Nigel is an endorsee of Fibonacci guitars, with whom he has worked to produce the signature ‘Londoner’ model, and Award/Session amplifiers.
