Kolstein Center Announces June and July Performances at Essex House

While Broadway theaters and NYC entertainment centers were on hiatus or with restricted audience precautions, Manny Alvarez saw Covid and emergence from the Pandemic as an opportunity. As the President of Kolstein (www.kolstein.com), Manny believed the timing was ideal for Kolstein to open a new Kolstein Center in midtown Manhattan. Kolstein was established eighty years ago in upper Manhattan. It ranks as one of the top four luthier manufacturers in America for fine-quality string instruments (violin, viola, cello, and bass).

About 35 years ago, Kolstein re-located to Baldwin, Nassau County for more warehouse space and expansion room. Manny wanted to become part of NYC's comeback. He strategically leased about 3,000 square foot of space, adjacent to the prestigious Essex House Hotel, one minute from Carnegie Hall in the heart of "billionaires' row", convenient to Broadway theaters and performing arts giants like Lincoln Center.

Given the comprehensive inventory and services Manny provides on string instruments, The Kolstein Center has been a success since it opened last December. Many musicians have come to rely on Kolstein as they work for Broadway shows, perform at concert venues, or play gigs at clubs in the Broadway area.

One Covid consequence has actually become beneficial to Kolstein: Many musicians traveling to NY have been concerned about airport security requirements and the risk that their delicate, valued string instrument may suffer damage. A number of them have found when they arrive in NY how it makes much more sense to rent/lease a high quality string instrument from Kolstein's readily available comprehensive inventory.

In response to Covid to provide some money to NYC's many out-of-work or underemployed string musicians, Manny Alvarez launched a "Kolstein Performance Showcase" in collaboration with the Essex House on Central Park South/7th. There is an ongoing schedule every Friday evening from 7-8 PM, where emerging musicians gain a prestigious performance opportunity (where they normally have not had access). Through Kolstein's "Musician's Relief Fund", this weekly event is free and open-to-the-public.

Manny Alvarez is known for providing support to community music organizations in the greater New York metro region. This past week, Kolstein was a sponsor for The Children's Orchestra Society led by Dr. Yeou Cheng Ma where leading high school students made their solo performance debut together with world-renowned violinist Adele Anthony at Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall.

Performance Schedule

What a music combo for June 17th: mega-talented jazz vocalist Kat Gang and credentialed bassist Phil Palombi...interpretations of music from Joni Mitchel, Rickie Lee Jone, and more. They are joined by Tony Romano on guitar and Tim Buckley on drums.

June 24th it's Mike Richmond, a legend on the bass, a career of working with greats like Stan Getz, Horace Silver, Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, Hubert Laws, and more. A Grammy Award winner for "Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux". An author of a textbook on the bass, used internationally.

FRIDAY, JULY 1ST, it's the Roberto Vally Duo. Roberto has performed and/or recorded with the following artists: George Benson, Christopher Cross, Jeffrey Osborne, Bob James, Al Jareau, Hillary Duff, David Benoit, Boz Scaggs, Kirk Whalum, Bobby Caldwell, Patti Austin, Arturo Sandoval, Jeff Golub, Peter White, Norman Brown, Paul Brown, Boney James, Ric Braun, Michael Lington, Richard Elliot, Joan Sebastian, Johnny Rivers, Euge Groove, Eric Darius, Anna Barbara, Alvaro Torres, Los Trio, Ricardo Arjona, Nils, and more. Roberto also writes music. Songs he has written and co-written have been performed by the following artists: Bob James, Patti Austin, Boney James, Randy Crawford, Kirk Whalum, Michael Lington, Ric Braun, Richard Elliot, Nils, Ken Navaro, Jeff Kashiwa, Euge Groove and others.

FRIDAY, JULY 8TH, it is Joe Tranchina and Robert Kopec.

Joe Vincent Tranchina is an award winning jazz pianist/composer and a multifaceted recording artist. He has performed in most of the major jazz and club venues throughout NYC, the greater surrounding area, and in many international venues as well.

Robert Kopec is not only a great bassist, bandleader, and educator, but a well-regarded, respected figure in music. He excels at acoustic and electric; jazz, funk, experimental.

FRIDAY, JULY 15TH, The Kolstein Performance Showcase features Gloria Shih, recognized for her diverse abilities as a pianist and collaborative artist. She has worked with members of the Emerson String Quartet, members of the Meridian Arts Ensemble, and members of the Metropolitan Opera. Her performances have included venues such as Carnegie's Weill Hall, Merkin Hall and Oji Hall in Tokyo. She has received critical acclaim for her performances throughout Asia, Europe and North America, including engagements in Philadelphia, North Carolina, Westchester, California, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Minnesota, Southampton, England, Japan, and South Korea.
Gloria Shih holds Master' Degree from Mannes College of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University.
Dr. Shih serves on the faculty of Hofstra University and Children's Orchestra Society.

FRIDAY, JULY 22ND, features Mike Forfia. He is the Music Director of NYC Citylight Church in Astoria, New York. In 2015, Mike Fortia won the International Society of Bassists Jazz Competition

MARCO PANASCIA, Performs at The Kolstein Center Performance Showcase Friday, JULY 29. Marco Panascia (pronounced: pana-SEE-ah) is an Italian-born bassist, composer and educator living in New York City since 2002, and a recently minted U.S. citizen. His proficiency in many different musical settings, and his strong doubling skills on the acoustic and the electric basses have earned him wholehearted praise worldwide. Panascia has made a name for himself by being featured in the groups of several jazz luminaries, such as Kenny Barron, Andy Bey, Kevin Mahogany, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Eric Reed, Dado Moroni, Alvin Queen, Bobby Watson, Peter Bernstein, Tamir Hendelman, Claudio Roditi, and David Kikoski, and by regularly appearing in some of the world's top music festivals and venues, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Panascia is also known for his tenure with young jazz piano sensation Eldar Djangirov, which delivered sold-out performances in three continents, and culminated in two celebrated CD releases on the Sony BMG Masterworks label: "Live at the Blue Note", and "re-imagination", which received a 2008 Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Mentored by Los Angeles studio legend Carol Kaye and by classical double bass maestros Nello Nicotra and Bertram Turetzky, Panascia was the first prize winner of the 1998 Edinburgh International Double Bass competition in Scotland. After moving to the United States, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, as a full tuition scholarship recipient. Currently an adjunct faculty member at the New School University in Manhattan, he often gets invited to teach clinics and masterclasses in the United States and abroad. Recent teaching stints have included the Rochester Bass Retreat and the Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York; the SC Double Bass Conference at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina; the USU Guitar and Bass Festival at Utah State University in Logan, Utah; and the Bass Fest at the State University of New York in Fredonia, New York.
Panascia's performance credits on acoustic and electric bass include some of the most highly regarded artists on the contemporary jazz scene and beyond, such as Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Roy Hargrove, Chris Botti, Gary Burton, Seamus Blake, Peter Erskine, Adam Nussbaum, Greg Hutchinson, Lewis Nash, Matt Wilson, Victor Lewis, Nasheet Waits, Helen Sung, and Francesco Cafiso. In the pop and R&B fields, Panascia has performed with Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Holliday and Brian McKnight, and has toured in Canada and the United States with the award-winning Italian operatic pop trio, Il Volo. Whenever he has time off from his hectic international touring schedule, Panascia can be heard performing in some of New York's most celebrated venues, as a leader of his own group, or as a sideman with several world-renowned musicians on the scene. As further indication of Panascia's freelancing abilities outside of the jazz world, he has been subbing regularly for legendary bassist Tom Barney on Disney's "The Lion King", Broadway's third longest-running show in history and the highest grossing Broadway production of all time, and he has been one of the featured bassists on the groundbreaking Off-Broadway show "Sleep No More" between 2012 and 2017. In 2019, Panascia also started subbing for bassist extraordinaire Michael Olatuja on "Frozen", another successful Disney production on Broadway. Panascia is also a first call bassist on the New York cabaret and singer-songwriter music scenes, and he mantains a strong presence on social media, with a dedicated channel of video bass performances on YouTube that has amassed over 1,400,000 views since its inception.

Aside from being featured as a sideman on more than 50 recordings, Panascia's first album as a leader, "Bass Duo Live", was released in 2014, and it documents an unedited live concert with Dario Deidda, one of Italy's most celebrated jazz musicians, on a swinging and highly conversational acoustic/electric bass duo performance. The album is available on Bandcamp, both in physical and digital form. In April 2021, the debut album from phenomenal jazz guitarist Dan Wilson was released on the Mack Avenue label, featuring Christian Sands, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Joy Brown and Marco Panascia, under the production of Christian McBride.

Marco Panascia uses and endorses Markbass amplifiers, Mike Lull Custom Electric Basses, Alter Ego Basso, D'Addario Strings and Kolstein Bass Covers and Rosin.