Pericopes + 1 is a new addition to a project initiated by pianist Alessandro Sgobbio and saxophonist Emiliano Vernizzi. Brooklyn-based drummer Nick Wight became the “+ 1” in 2012, and the result is These Human Beings, released in February 2015 under the Alfa Music Label. With widespread media attention and two successful Album Release tours in America and Europe, 2015 has shown tremendous progress for this on-the-rise trio.
Since its release, These Human Beings rapidly gained attention of the international jazz press and iconic musicians. Evident in the album’s liner notes, saxophonist Dave Liebman says, “These guys have a history to be sure.” ECM artist Enrico Rava also contributes, “There is the search but also heart… there is rage and love.” By autumn, the album earned over two-dozen reviews, including USA’s Downbeat, and Italy’s Musica Jazz.
Additional achievements include a featured interview and performance for RAI Radio3 in Milan, an appearance on Austrian National Television, and various highlights from both tours.
In April, Vernizzi and Sgobbio re-visited their roots as a duo, performing at Paris’ renowned club, Sunset/Sunside for the 2015 International Jazz Day. In July, Pericopes + 1 began a two-week USA Album Release Tour that included concerts across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York City. This tour earned a review in USA’s Jazz Inside Magazine, saying, “They deliver an appealing combination of post-bop and avant-garde jazz, thriving in melody, harmony, and structure.” The climax of the tour was performing at Brooklyn’s innovative ShapeShifter Lab, where NYC Jazz Record wrote, “This young trio discovered various moods of deep introspection.”
By Autumn 2015, Vernizzi, Sgobbio, and Wight made big leaps with a 23-stage tour of Europe. Visiting seven countries in less than four weeks, event organizers and journalists recognized the audience’s enthusiasm. After Milan’s concert, All About Jazz boasted, “This trio has impressed us with a richness of ideas, linear thinking, and consequential exposure.” In Austria, the Graz Jazz Nacht festival featured Pericopes + 1 with a sold-out performance at Stockwerk Jazz. Local media attended and approved with, “An original, stylish, well-balanced contribution to contemporary jazz.” Performing only once in France, Lyon journalist Patrick Ducher admired their maturity, “What’s really impressive is the feeling of unity in this trio.”
Pericopes + 1 transitions into 2016 with a spring tour of Europe, pushing to reach new listeners across the UK, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy and Germany. Additional tours of Europe, the USA and Japan are being organized into 2017.
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