Josh Deutsch
of New York, NY

Description

JOSH DEUTSCH / NICO SOFFIATO DUO
Trumpeter Josh Deutsch and guitarist Nico Soffiato have been playing together in a duo setting since 2006, when they both fortuitously sublet rooms in the same Boston apartment.  Over the last year, Nico and Josh have been compiling a set of music composed specifically for this ensemble, including several co-written works. 
The duo setting allows for a level of transparency, interaction and sonic exploration which can be lost in larger ensembles.  Josh and Nico have embraced the challenges and possibilities of writing for this duo, and created a book of original music, borrowing from some of their favorite classical, jazz and pop ideals, and ranging from electronic loops to entirely acoustic pieces, balancing carefully crafted compositions with space for exciting improvisation and interaction.
The duo has performed throughout the New York area, and is currently working towards a full length CD of original music.

Josh Deutsch is a trumpeter, composer and educator residing in Queens, New York.  A native of Seattle, Josh started as a pianist and composer, before finding an affinity for jazz trumpet in the award-winning jazz bands at Washington Middle School and Garfield High School.  Josh went on to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in jazz studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied with Danilo Pérez, Bob Brookmeyer, John McNeil, Allan Chase and composer Lee Hyla.  A three-time participant at the Banff International Jazz Workshop, Josh worked closely with such musicians as Bill Frisell, Dave Douglas and Kenny Werner.  In 2006, Josh was awarded a Graduate Teaching Fellowship to the University of Oregon, and earned a Masters of Music in Jazz Performance and Composition in the spring of 2009.

Equally comfortable as a leader and sideman, Josh has performed at venues and festivals throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan.  Josh has been a leader or co-leader of the groups Four Across, The Poisonous Birds, the Josh Deutsch/Nico Soffiato Duo and the Josh Deutsch Quintet and Septet.  He has performed with such artists as Danilo Perez, the Duke Ellington Big Band, Sofia Rei Koutsovitis, Michael Bates’ Outside Sources, La Excellencia and Ken Peplowski.  Josh was a two-time winner of the Reno International Jazz Festival’s Outstanding College Trumpeter award, in 2008 and 2009, as well as Downbeat Magazine’s 2008 Student Music Awards College Jazz Soloist winner.

As an educator, Josh has experience with students and ensembles at all levels.  In 2008, Josh received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Oregon, for his work with large and small jazz ensembles, and private improvisation students.  Josh has appeared as a clinician and given masterclasses throughout the state of Oregon, and been on the faculty of the Oregon Festival of American Music’s Summer Jazz Academy from 2007 through 2009 and the University of Oregon Summer Jazz Camp from 2007 to the present.

Josh is a composer in multiple genres, and his compositions and arrangements have been performed by artists from the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Ruth Marshall to the Oregon Jazz Ensemble, Ron Miles and Danilo Pérez.  Josh has received commissions from “From the Top” radio show, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Music Northwest.  Josh is also the composer of “The Ligeti Project”, a twelve movement cross-genre work for jazz septet, based loosely around Györgi Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata, which has been performed on both the East and West Coasts.

Nico Soffiato, Italian guitarist, composer and educator, currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.  After receiving his Master’s degree in philosophy with a thesis on the ontology of music, he moved to Boston. There he attended Berklee College of Music, thanks to a Best Entering Talent Students scholarship, and graduated magna cum laude. At Berklee he studied performance and composition with David Tronzo, Jon Damian, Hal Crook, Ed Tomassi and Jeff Galindo.  During his stay he was awarded a second scholarship: the Berklee Achievement Scholarship.  Nico was also selected to be part of an all-guitar ensemble whose members included notable alumni like Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mike Stern and Wolfgang Muthspiel.

He also attended seminars with Bill Frisell, Dave Holland, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Steve Coleman and others.

In New York, aside from being the front man of the Nico Soffiato Quartet, he leads the improvised music group Paradigm Refrain with which he’s been performing for about two years at a monthly residency in Brooklyn.  The group has a diverse cast and guests have included: David Tronzo, Nate Wooley, Sunny Kim, Bruno Raberg, Danilo Gallo, Zeno de Rossi, Alessandro Fedrigo, Piero Bittolo Bon, Nick Falk, Petr Cancura, Giacomo Merega, Federico Casagrande, Brian Adler, Noah Kaplan and many others.

Nico co-leads a duo with trumpeter Josh Deutsch and they will be releasing a record in late 2010.

As a sideman and solo performer, Nico has performed extensively in the US and Italy.

“…straddling the line between mainstream and experimental, the Nico Soffiato Quartet is a refreshing contribution to contemporary jazz…”
“...with creative treatments and impressive attention to nuance, the ensemble crafts intriguing, enigmatic music that stands out from the otherwise oversaturated jazz scene and its tired sound.”

John Engelman, Knocks from the Underground NYC