Gustavo Casenave Quartet Will Come to Flushing Town Hall

On November 22, take a journey through South American jazz with multiple-Grammy Award nominee, pianist, and composer Gustavo Casenave, featuring his eclectic quartet in an adventurous and memorable evening of passionate music, virtuosity and talent, at Flushing Town Hall.

Together with 2018 Grammy-winning bassist Pedro Giraudo, Grammy-winning saxophonist Alejandro Aviles, and drummer guru Franco Pinna, the quartet will present new works shaped by South American musicians.

Casenave, who has called New York City home for two decades, is not only a multiple-Grammy Award nominee, but a Steinway Artist and ACE Awardee. He graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music, where he was selected as one of the ten best composers from Berklee in three decades. For 20 years he has been touring extensively across the globe, appearing at numerous venues in Europe, Asia, and South, Central, and North America, and presenting his music with different jazz, tango, and chamber ensembles. With more than 20 years of teaching experience in New York, Florida, Uruguay, and Austria, he is a current guest artist for master classes and lectures at The Juilliard School.

Casenave was Bette Midler's Musical Director for two years and her accompanist and private teacher. He also was commissioned to do an arrangement of one of his original compositions, for the ensemble "The twelve cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic," and co-wrote, arranged, and recorded the Tango "Volvere"; with actor Robert Duvall, which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He performed and recorded with several Grammy and Oscar award winners, and many other internationally acclaimed artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Egan, Jane Ira Bloom, Manolo Badrena, John Benitez, Federico Britos, Miguel Zenon, Avishai Cohen, Neil Sedaca, Charlie Persip, Pedro Giraudo, RayVega, Hector Del Curto, Roland Gebhardt, Ruth Brisbane, and Curtis Lundy.

His new album "Balance" just received another Grammy nomination, and was also nominated among the Top Ten Albums of the Summer 2019, and awarded two gold medals by the Global Music Awards 2019. In 2018, Casenave was finalist in the American Prize in Composition, and during his time as a global musician Casenave received several Latin Grammy nominations. In 1999, he won the international Belgian Artistic Promotion; award at the Europe Jazz Contest 1999, and was the composer for the feature film "La Cascara," which won many awards worldwide.

Pedro Giraudo (bass) is a Latin Grammy Award winner bassist and composer, who is among the most compelling tango artists today. After two decades performing with the most important interpreters of tango, Pedro Giraudo debuted his own Tango Orchestra at Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing in July 2015, and since then has become an active cultural ambassador of this beautiful and passionate music of his native Argentina.

Alejandro Aviles (saxophone) is a first generation Cuban-American who comes from a long lineage of musicians. In fact, Mr. Avilés' family is being considered by the Guiness Book of World Records for having the longest, most continuous family run musical group in the world. The Orquesta Hermanos Avilés was started by his great-grandfather, Manuel Avilés, in 1882 in Holguin, Cuba, and is remarkably still in existence today. Alejandro, who is based in New York, had the rare opportunity in 2015 to travel to Cuba and perform in the Havana Jazz Festival with the "Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra," which recorded a ground-breaking album that won the 2016 Latin Grammy, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Large Ensemble.

The performance at Flushing Town Hall presents one of the few chances to enjoy jazz originally from Uruguay, composed by a multi-awarded Uruguayan musician, and performed by an all-Latin American quartet. You can enjoy a taste here of what's in store by the Gustavo Casenave Quartet.

Flushing Town Hall will present Gustavo Casenave Quartet: A South American Jazz Tale on Friday, November 22 at 8 PM. Tickets are $16, $10 for members and students, and free for teens, and can be purchased at www.flushingtownhall.org or by calling (718) 463-7700 x222.

Once again, Flushing Town Hall is opening its doors to teenagers-for free. Under the "Teen Access Program," all 13- to 19-year-old teens (whether a member or not) will be welcomed to attend any performance for free. The program is designed to appeal to students and help foster a greater love for arts and culture.

Flushing Town Hall is accessible by car, bus, train and foot-located a short distance from the 7 train-at 137-35 Northern Blvd. in Flushing, Queens. Access for wheelchair users and individuals with limited mobility is available.