Andy Bianco - NYC Stories (2020)

NEW YORK, NY: Guitarist Andy Bianco releases NYC Stories, a riveting chronicle of the trials, tribulations and moments of joy along the path of life (NL 2009). NYC Stories enchants the listener with a documentation of art reflecting human experience, offering a message of striving against adversity while evoking curiosity and self-exploration.

NYC Stories offers the most wide-ranging documentation of Bianco’s artistry to date, showcasing where he has been and illuminating the path ahead. Bianco’s approach on NYC Stories fuses many of the influential elements of his past three recordings including modern post-bop-isms, fusion sensibilities and avant-garde exploration. According to Bianco “The double entendre of the word “stories” in the album speaks to both to the stories of life in the city, but also to the consecutive levels of a building or structure that ascend higher into the sky. Thus a metaphor for the overarching album theme of striving higher in the face of adversity. This is an album about striving and ascension.”

Bianco is a New York City based jazz artist, composer and educator. He has performed at many renowned venues such as ABC Television's Good Morning America, Billboard Live Osaka/Tokyo, the Howard Theater, Blues Alley, the Long Beach Jazz Festival, the Blue Note. He is also the guitarist for the Grammy-winning R&B artist Elle Varner, with whom he has toured Japan for Billboard Live. Among his accolades, he was a finalist in the 2012 and 2015 USA Songwriting Competitions and his music has been licensed for use in Hollywood film and prime time network television. His two prior releases as a leader have received domestic and international critical acclaim from Elsewhere New Zealand, Bop-N-Jazz, The New York City Jazz Record, to name a few.

The spirited, “For Those Who Battle Demons” is an intimate musical narrative of the inner turmoil that people often face in life. The piece is inspired by Bianco’s personal relationships with individuals who suffer from addiction, mental health issues, crisis of meaning and also those who have succumbed to these struggles. The song is composed in three sections depicting the first encounter with the demon, the epic battle one may face and the devastating aftermath of the combat. Bianco writes "This is a song I wrote for those who battle demons; For those who battle demons, this song is for you."

With its playful vibe and collective improv section evoking the spirited dialogue of the drum circles in NYC's parks, Bianco’s “Two Ducks Crossing” is a celebratory tune of gratitude for shared music-making and the beauty of nature in the moment, amid the hustle of life in the city. Bianco recalls, "The idea for Two Ducks Crossing expresses an appreciation for nature and the beauty of Prospect Park - ’Brooklyn's Back Yard’ as it is referred to. The incident of two ducks crossing a path I was jogging along impressed me as a quite whimsical and zen-like occurrence. A celebration of the wonder and simplicity of the natural world. This was something that I found to be very uplifting.”