Vince Giordano

Vince Giordano (March 11, 1952, Brooklyn) is a musician and arranger, and leader of the New York-based Nighthawks Orchestra. Giordano is the leading American specialist in the jazz styles of the 1920s and 1930s. Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks have performed at countless music festivals and concert dates, and have appeared in - and provided music for - dozens of television and film projects, including the award-winning HBO series "Boardwalk Empire". The Nighthawks perform weekly at Sofia's Restaurant in the heart of Times Square.

Early life
Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, 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 playing 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 Eddy Davis, played in New York with Tony Parenti and Max Kaminsky, and toured with Clyde McCoy.

Birth of the Nighthawks
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 events for the patrons of the NY Pops, NYC Opera, NYC Ballet and countless charitable organizations. Vince has also performed at the Smithsonian, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Jazz Festivals around the world.

Preserving and Performing the Music of the 20's and 30's
More than simply a performer, Giordano is a big-band historian and collector with more than 60,000 scores in his collection. 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. In 2011, Giordano was featured in the PBS series Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook, in which he reveals his treasures from the Great American Songbook. Turner Classic Movie Film Festival also spotlighted Vince and the Nighthawks at Hollywood’s Music Box, where the band performed a special evening of vintage movie music, in addition to accompanying "The Cameraman", a Buster Keaton silent film shown at the Egyptian Theater. In the summer of 2012, jazz fans have seen them perform at the Newport Jazz Festival, Music Mountain, and the Litchfield Jazz Festival. He is listed as 'a friend of' Thornton Hagert & the Vernacular Music Research's historical archive of music in the Michael Segall 2006 book The Devil's Horn The Story of the Saxophone.

Movie and Television Soundtracks and Screen Appearances
Early appearances with Leon Redbone and A Prairie Home Companion and then lending his musical and acting 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 acting as a bass player, most notably in Sean Penn’s band in Woody’s "Sweet And Lowdown". He and the band have been both onscreen and in the studio for Gus Van Sant’s film "Finding Forrester"; in Martin Scorsese’s "The Aviator"; and Sam Mendes’ film "Revolutionary Road". Other recording projects include soundtracks for Terry Zwigoff’s "Ghost World"; Tamara Jenkins’s "The Savages"; Robert De Niro’s film, "The Good Shepherd"; Sam Mendes’ "Away We Go"; Michael Mann’s film "Public Enemies", along with HBO’s – "Grey Gardens" and Todd Haynes’ HBO mini-series "Mildred Pierce". The Nighthawks were also featured as performers on Season Three of USA Network's "Royal Pains".

Boardwalk Empire and Grammy Award
Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks have also been on-screen actors in all three seasons of Terence Winter’s award-winning HBO series "Boardwalk Empire" (Season Three Premiere: Sunday, September 16th). Most recently, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks were awarded a 2012 Grammy for best compilation for visual media for their work on "BOARDWALK EMPIRE Volume 1 – Music from the HBO Original Series" CD.

Sofia's Downstairs in Times Square
Currently, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks can be heard from 8-11 p.m. every Monday and Tuesday evenings at Sofia’s Restaurant (downstairs), adjacent to the Edison Hotel at 221 W. 46th Street in the heart of Times Square, NYC.

Select discography
Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks
 * ''Bill Challis' The Goldkette Project"
 * Cheek to Cheek
 * Quality Shout
 * ''Music of the Cotton Club Revisited"
 * Moonlight Serenade – Big Band Hits of the 1930s & ‘40s
 * The Aviator – Music From The Motion Picture
 * It’s De Lovely – The Authentic Cole Porter Collection
 * Boardwalk Empire Volume 1: Music from The HBO Original Series