From ‘Boardwalk Empire’ to JazzFeast

by Anthony Stoeckert, Packet Media Group
Vince Giordano doesn’t just love music from the 1920s, he’s made it his life.
Since he was a kid, Mr. Giordano has been listening to jazz from the roaring ’20s, playing it, studying it, and collecting it. The result is that he’s now widely considered the leading expert on the music, and is the mastermind behind music for movies and television that feature the music, most notable, HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” produced by Martin Scorsese.
He also performs regularly in New York, but you can see him and his Nighthawks perform at JazzFeast in Palmer Square, Sept. 14, with a set that will begin at 5 p.m.
JazzFeast is marking its 23rd year of food and music in Palmer Square. It will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Alan Dale and the New Legacy Band will begin the music at noon. The Warren Chiasson Quartet will perform a tribute to George Shearing, beginning at 1:15 p.m. The Fins will play, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Cynthia Sayer & Sparks Fly will play at 3:45.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Mr. Giordano says. “It’s a wonderful event, and we play for a whole new group of people, normally you see us around New York City. It’s a free event, a lot of people can bring their kids and experience early jazz and the great American songbook and live music.”
He adds that the songs he and the band plays work wonderfully in a live, outdoor setting.
“The music from the 1920s was very uplifting and fun and optimistic, and challenging,” he says. “It’s got a great beat to it, you find a lot of people tapping their toes and getting into the whole mood of what made the 1920s roar.”
“Empire Boardwalk” has given Mr. Giordano the opportunity to share the music with a wider audience. He and the Nighthawks won a Grammy for the first CD release of music from the show, and a lot of effort is put into not only playing the music, but playing it in the way it was meant to be played.
“The secret is the combination of things,” he says. That includes having that same sheet music musicians used at that time. “And almost more important is to have the right players who understand this way of playing. It’s almost like learning a new language, the way musicians have to interpret the music, and play and feel the sense that musicians embraced in the 1920s.
That means, he says, a very on-top feel, with an element of vibrato that he says is missing from today’s music. It also involves what he describes as a “hot way” of playing.
For an example of this, listen to the recording of “It Had to Be You” on the second volume of music from the series. Elvis Costello handles the lead vocals.
“When we recorded ‘Had to Be You’ with him, I was worried, because the original temple, which is on the CD, is pretty fast,” Mr. Giordano says. “Nobody plays ‘It Had to Be You’ in that tempo, it’s sort of like a turkey trot or a one-step. Usually it’s this languid ballad that takes two days to go through.”
But Mr. Costello, who grew up in a musical family, embraced the idea of singing it at the faster tempo.
“I was really knocked out,” Mr. Giordano says. “Boardwalk Empire” also has allowed him and the Nighthawks to record with artists such as Liza Minnelli, Leon Redbone, Rufus Wainwright and Patti Smith. “It’s really nice to meet these people and work with them, it’s very much an honor,” he says.
His devotion to this music began at a very young age.
“I got bitten by the bug, so to speak, when I was 5 years old,” he says. “Music that was being played on AM radio back in the 1950s — this is pre-rock ’n’ roll and all that stuff — it was pretty sweet and saccharin, things like ‘How Much is that Doggie in the Window?’ and ‘Oh My Papa.’
“And when I found my grandmother’s old phonograph recordings, they really brought me to a new place because I could hear the excitement that was coming out of those old disks and the way the musicians and singers would just really grab you with their compelling rhythms, and the way they phrased, and the show-biz elements that were so much a part of those times.”
That led to him collecting recordings, then sheet music, and then playing the music himself.
“I just said, ‘I have to play what I’m hearing on those old scratchy 78s today, in my lifetime.’ And that was the start,” he says.
He also collects sheet music of arrangements, owning more than 60,000. He bought a second home in Brooklyn so that he has enough space to store everything. In an interview on “Fresh Air,” Terry Gross asked Mr. Giordano if he was a hoarder. He didn’t deny he was, but promised his home is nice.
His collection has preserved music that has never been recorded and that might be lost forever if he hadn’t saved it.
“Much of the material that I have, really was being in the right place at the right time of obtaining it,” he says. “Older musicians who had passed away, their families were ready to put this stuff out on the curb.” There also have been families he’s contacted who did indeed get rid of the music before Mr. Giordano contacted them, meaning a lot of music has gotten lost.
It takes a lot of work to get the music out there, he says. And while he says the Internet is competition in that people have so many entertainment options that might keep them out of a jazz club, it’s also helped spread the music he loves.
“I’m happy that young people can go to the Net, either to YouTube or jazz sites, and find thousands and thousands of amazing recordings that as a youngster, I would be driving all over God’s creation with a reel-to-reel tape recorder, trying to capture from other people collections,” he says. “It’s out there and I hope it keeps booming and people keep the interest in this great music.”
The feast part of JazzFeast will be provided by some of the area’s well known restaurants and food providers: Blossom’s Catering, Buzzetta’s Festival Foods, Chez Alice Gourmet Café and Bakery, Jammin Crepes, Masala Grill, Mediterra, Mehek Fine Indian Dining, Nomad Pizza, Princeton Soup & Sandwich Company, Thomas Sweet Chocolate, Tico’s Eatery and Juice Bar, Tiger Noodles, Tiger’s Tale, Triumph Brewing Company, Winberie’s Restaurant and Bar, and Yankee Doodle Tap Room.
It’s free to come to JazzFeast and listen to the music. Food vendors charge accordingly. For more information, go to www.palmersquare.com. 