In-School Performances

ALEX DE GRASSI

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“DE GRASSI'S SOLO STEEL-STRING GUITAR PIECES RESEMBLE ORCHESTRAL OVERTURES MORE THAN MERE SONGS. ALEX'S CONTROL AND SENSITIVITY ARE ALMOST AS STRIKING AS HIS TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.”
Guitar Player Magazine
“HIS TOUCH IS AS EXQUISITE AS HIS LYRICISM, AND HIS IMPROVISATIONAL/ COMPOSITIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IS AS INTRICATE AND SUBTLE AS A SPARKLING CRYSTAL.”
Down Beat Magazine
“DE GRASSI MERGES INTRICATE FINGER-PICKING TECHNIQUE WITH AN UNCANNY GIFT FOR MELODIC INVENTION.”
Billboard Magazine
Performance Highlights

05.25.13
Matt Haimovitz/Christopher O’Riley
Tannery Pond Concerts
New Lebanon, NY

05.29.13
Christopher O’Riley
Yoshi's 
San Francisco, CA 

06.01.13
Frank Ferrante in [An Evening with Groucho]
State Theatre, Culpepper, VA 

Listen

excerpts from Fretwork Connection with Andrew York
Zero Gravity
DissFunkShun
from the album- The Water Garden
Prelude (de Grassi)
Cumulus Rising (de Grassi)
from the album- Now and Then
Shortnin' Bread (Trad.)

Tours & Projects

Alex de Grassi & Andrew York: Fretwork Connection - Touring 13-14

Two leading innovators of the guitar, Alex de Grassi and Andrew York, join forces to fuse the sounds and traditions of steel and nylon into a unique duo program. With roots in seemingly different traditions—de Grassi as a largely self-taught folk and jazz musician and York as a trained classical artist—a mutual passion for exploring all types of music has led these two acclaimed composers/performers to branch out and find a common space where the steel-string and classical guitar interact seamlessly. Juxtaposing original compositions, improvisation, and unlikely arrangements of everything from Monk to Piazzolla to the Police, their duo performances take audiences for a ride through astonishingly diverse terrain.

The spark for this collaboration was ignited in 2011 when the two guitarists recorded Andrew York’s composition DissFunkShun for his album of duets.  A founding member of the renowned Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Mr. York earned a GRAMMY® for that group’s recording Guitar Heroes (Telarc), and was also featured on the GRAMMY®-winning recording of the Osvaldo Golijov opera Ainadamar, performing with the Atlanta Symphony. Guitar Player magazine says “Andrew York’s eclectic writing and playing constitute one of the hippest styles in American classical guitar…” and indeed, his compositions have been recorded by such guitar luminaries as John Williams, Christopher Parkening, and Japanese pianist, Mitsouko Kado.

The Wall Street Journal has called Alex de Grassi’s playing “flawless” and DownBeat magazine says, “his touch is as exquisite as his lyricism….” His early solo recordings for the iconic Windham Hill label and his GRAMMY® nominated recording The Water Garden (Tropo Records) are considered classics of the genre. He has been commissioned by String Letter Publishing to compose for steel-string guitar and string orchestra, and by the New York Guitar Festival for their Silent Films Live Guitars series.