Vince Giordano (born March 11, 1952 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

) is an American saxophonist and leader of the New York-based

Nighthawks Orchestra Nighthawks Orchestra is a New York-based musical group, led by music historian Vince Giordano, that concentrates on recreations of the hot jazz and dance music styles of the period between 1919 and the mid-1930s. Recordings by the Nighthawks Or ...

. He specializes in jazz of the 1920s and 1930s and his primary instrument is the

bass saxophone The bass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family—larger and lower than the more common baritone saxophone. It was likely the first type of saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, as first observed by Berlioz in 1842. It ...

. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks have played on television and film soundtracks, including the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

'' and

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's musical comedy film ''

Everyone Says I Love You ''Everyone Says I Love You'' is a 1996 American musical film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Allen, Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, Natasha Lyonne and Natalie Portman. Set in New York ...

''.

Music career

When he was five, Giordano listened to music of the 1920s on a wind-up Victrola. When he was 15, he played

string bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

and

professionally and took lessons from

Bill Challis William H. Challis (July 8, 1904 – October 4, 1994) was an American jazz arranger, best known for his association with the Paul Whiteman orchestra. Early life Challis was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He played piano and saxophone and w ...

to learn about writing arrangements like the dance bands of the 1920s and 30s. He performed with New Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band, he New York Jazz Repertory Company, and

Leon Redbone Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian; August 26, 1949 – May 30, 2019) was a singer-songwriter and musician specializing in jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley classics. Recognized by his hat (often a Panama hat), dark sunglasses, and black tie, Red ...

. He plays bass saxophone, string bass and tuba with his band, The Nighthawks, which plays music from the early days of jazz, such as

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

. Lending his musical and acting talents to

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

's film '' The Cotton Club'' led to working with

Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Art ...

's Orchestra in half a dozen

soundtracks, then acting as bass player, most notably in

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

's band in Allen's ''

Sweet and Lowdown ''Sweet and Lowdown'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama mockumentary film written and directed by Woody Allen. Loosely based on Federico Fellini's film ''La Strada'', the film tells the fictional story, set in the 1930s, of self-confident jazz guit ...

''. Giordano and the Nighthawks have appeared on soundtracks for the movies '' The Aviator'', ''

Finding Forrester ''Finding Forrester'' is a 2000 American drama film written by Mike Rich and directed by Gus Van Sant. In the film, a black teenager, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown (actor), Rob Brown), is invited to attend a prestigious private high school. By chance ...

'', '' The Good Shepherd'', and '' Public Enemies'', the HBO mini-series ''

Mildred Pierce ''Mildred Pierce'' is a psychological drama by James M. Cain published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1941. A story of “social inequity and opportunity in America" set during the Great Depression, ''Mildred Pierce'' follows the trajectory of a lower- ...

'', and the HBO series ''

''.

Collecting

Giordano is a music historian and collector with more than 60,000 scores in his collection. He is listed as "a friend of Thornton Hagert and the

Vernacular Music Research Vernacular Music Research is an archival and historical collection of music. It includes print (books, sheet music, orchestrations), 78' records, and other media featuring American music and dance from the early 19th century to the 1960s. It was f ...

's archive of music" in ''The Devil's Horn: The Story of the Saxophone'' by Michael Segall (2006). In 2011, he was featured in the PBS series ''

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...

's American Songbook'', in which he reveals his treasures from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is ...

. His collection includes big band arrangements, silent movie scores, 78-rpm discs, piano rolls, and a

Victrola The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

Performing

Giordano and his band have been guests on

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

's variety radio show, ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

.'' Turner Classic Movie Film Festival spotlighted him at Hollywood's Music Box, where the band performed vintage movie music, in addition to accompanying ''The Cameraman'', a

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

silent film shown at the Egyptian Theater. In the summer of 2012, the band performed at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

, Music Mountain, and the Litchfield Jazz Festival. In 2016 a feature-length documentary, "There's a Future in the Past", about Giordano and his band was released.

Awards and honors

Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media has been awarded since 2000. In 2000 the award was presented as the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album, and from 2001 to 2011 as Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Pi ...

, '' Boardwalk Empire Volume 1: Music from the HBO Original Series'', 2012

Selected discography

* ''Quality Shout'' ( Stomp Off, 1993) * ''The Goldkette Project'' (

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

, 1994) * ''Music of the Cotton Club Revisited'' (Nighthawk, 2001) * ''Remembering Louis'' (Jump, 2002) * ''Cheek to Cheek'' (Nighthawk, 2003) * ''Moonlight Serenade – Big Band Hits of the 1930s & '40s'' (Nighthawk, 2006) * ''Top Hat, White Tie & Tails'' Soundtrack appearances * 1994 ''Baseball: The American Epic'' * 1997 ''

'' * 2001 ''

Ghost World (film) ''Ghost World'' is a 2001 black comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas and Steve Buscemi. Based on the 1993–97 comic book of the same name by Daniel Clowes, with a ...

'' * 2004 '' The Aviator'' * 2006 '' George M. Cohan Tonight!'' * 2007 '' The Good Shepherd'' * 2011 '' Mildred Pierce: Music from the HBO Miniseries'' * 2011 '' Boardwalk Empire Volume 1: Music from the HBO Original Series'' * 2013 '' Boardwalk Empire Volume 2: Music from the HBO Original Series'' * 2014 '' Boardwalk Empire Volume 3: Music from the HBO Original Series'' * 2015 '' Bessie: Music from the HBO Film'' * 2016 ''

Cafe Society A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

'' With

* 1978 ''Champagne Charlie'' * 1981 ''From Branch to Branch'' * 1985 ''Red to Blue'' * 1991 ''Sugar'' * 1992 ''Up a Lazy River'' * 1994 ''Whistling in the Wind'' * 2001 ''Any Time'' With

Marty Grosz Martin Oliver Grosz (born February 28, 1930) is an American jazz guitarist, banjoist, vocalist, and composer born in Berlin, Germany, the son of artist George Grosz. He performed with Bob Wilber and wrote arrangements for him. He has also worked ...

* 1996 ''The Rhythm for Sale'' * 2002 ''Remembering Louis'' * 2005 ''Chasin' the Spots'' * 2006 ''Marty Grosz and His Hot Combination'' * 2009 ''Hot Winds: The Classic Sessions'' * 2012 ''The James P. Johnson Songbook'' With Back Bay Ramblers * 1994 ''My Mamma's in Town!'' * 2001 ''Cuttin' Up'' * 2003 ''Red Hot Band'' With others * 1986 ''Chicago Jazz Summit'', Chicago Jazz Summit * 1990 ''Get Yourself a New Broom (and Sweep Those Blues Away)'', Guy Van Duser * 1993 ''Jelly's Last Jam'', Silver Leaf Jazz Band * 1994 ''Jazz Hot Ensemble'', Jazz Hot Ensemble * 1994 ''The Keith Ingham New York 9, Vol. 1'',

Keith Ingham Keith Christopher Ingham (born 5 February 1942) is an English jazz pianist, mainly active in swing and Dixieland revival. Early life and education Ingham was born in London on 5 February 1942. His father played the organ in churches. Ingham was ...

* 1994 ''The Keith Ingham New York 9, Vol. 2'', Keith Ingham * 1997 ''Play the Music of Jelly Roll Morton'', New Jazz Wizards * 2001 ''Sweet & Lowdown'',

Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...

* 2001 ''Deep Night'',

Barbara Rosene Barbara Rosene is an American jazz singer. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Rosene grew up hearing jazz and big band music from her father's record collection. Her grandfather was a singer in the 1920s and '30s and performed on the radio in Cleveland. Ba ...

* 2002 ''Things Are Looking Up'', Paul Bacon * 2003 ''Black Manhattan: Theater and Dance Music of James Rick Benjamin'', The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra * 2003 ''Celebrating Bix!'', Bix Beiderbecke Centennial All Stars * 2003 ''Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen'' * 2004 ''Doin' Things'',

Andy Stein Andy Stein is an American saxophone and violin player. He is a member of The Guys All-Star Shoe Band on the radio show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' and the movie. He was a founding member of the country rock band Commander Cody and His Lost Plan ...

* 2004 ''If Bix Played Gershwin'',

* 2004 '' It's De Lovely - The Authentic Cole Porter Collection'',

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

* 2006 ''Guess Who's in Town'', Daryl Sherman * 2007 ''Lower Register: Bobby Gordon Plays Joe Marsala'', Bobby Gordon * 2009 ''If It Wasn't for the Irish and the Jews'',

Mick Moloney Michael Moloney (15 November 1944 – 27 July 2022) was an Irish-born American musician and scholar. He was the artistic director of several major arts tours and co-founded Green Fields of America. Early life Moloney was born in Limerick, Ire ...

* 2009 ''Together'', Lew Green/

Joe Muranyi Joseph P. Muranyi (January 14, 1928 – April 20, 2012) was an American jazz clarinetist, producer and critic. Muranyi studied with Lennie Tristano but was primarily interested in early jazz styles such as Dixieland and swing. After playing i ...

* 2020 ''I'd Rather Lead A Band'', Loudon Wainwright III

References

External links

Official website

Interview at NPR

Review in ''Show Business Weekly''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giordano, Vince 1952 births Living people American people of Italian descent American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz bandleaders American music arrangers 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians