About Vince Giordano

Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks –

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, bandleader Vince Giordano began his odyssey into the world of music at the age of five. The discovery of a slew of 78 rpm records in his grandmother’s attic ignited the flame. He began music on the violin but switched to tuba in the 7th grade, then added the string bass and bass saxophone. The ambitious Giordano joined the musicians union at age 14 and started playing with Dixieland banjo bands around Long Island. He became interested in the music of Bix Beiderbecke and studied with Bill Challis, the legendary arranger for the Paul Whiteman and Jean Goldkette Orchestras. Vince joined the 22-piece Navy Show Band after high school. Then toured Europe with Eddie Davis, played in New York with Tony Parenti and Max Kaminsky, and toured with Clyde McCoy.

In 1976 Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks (originally known as the New Orleans Nighthawks) was formed. His dynamic band has been booked for black tie galas at the New York Public Library, the Waldorf Astoria, the Rainbow Room and many private parties. Vince has also performed at the Smithsonian, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Jazz Festivals around the world. Early appearances with Leon Redbone and A Prairie Home Companion and lending his talents to Francis Ford Coppola’s film The Cotton Club, led to working with Dick Hyman’s Orchestra in half a dozen Woody Allen soundtracks, then as a bass player in Sean Penn’s band in Woody’s Sweet And Lowdown. He and band were featured in Gus Van Sant’s film Finding Forrester; in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator; Robert DeNiro’s film, The Good Shepherd; Tamara Jenkins’ film, The Savages, Sam Mendes’ films Revolutionary Road and Away We Go along with Michael Mann’s film Public Enemies.

Most recently Vince and the band have been performing and recording music for Martin Scorsese’s award-winning HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Other recording projects include soundtracks for HBO’s – Grey Gardens and Todd Haynes’ HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce. More than simply a performer, Giordano is a big-band historian and collector with more than 60,000 scores in his collection and was featured in the PBS series Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook, in which he reveals his treasures from the Great American Songbook. TCM Classic Film Festival also spotlighted Vince and the Nighthawks at Hollywood’s Music Box nightclub, where the band performed a special evening of vintage movie music, in addition to accompany The Cameraman a Buster Keaton Silent film at the Egyptian Theater. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks are renowned on the New York scene for their commitment to preserving and authentically presenting 1920s and ‘30s jazz and popular music. Currently, Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks can be heard every Monday and Tuesday evenings at Sofia’s Restaurant (downstairs) at 221 W. 46th Street in NYC.

Vince Giordano joined the JazzTimes community on Jul 18, 2011