Three-time Emmy-nominated pianist/composer Steve Sandberg is a musical shapeshifter, remixing classical music, world music and jazz with the excitement of virtuosic improvisation. He leads the Steve Sandberg Quartet, whose concerts combine performances of Chopin, Ravel, Bartok, Debussy, and Liszt with improvisations on Mr. Sandberg’s original compositions that are based on these pieces and also draw from Latin, African, Balkan, jazz and East Indian traditions.
One audience member describes the experience as listening to “music from a country I’ve never been to but always wanted to visit.” Sandberg also uses the concerts as an opportunity to educate and engage his audiences with accessible commentary that draws them into his musical world.
Sandberg grew up playing classical piano, then became part of NY’s vibrant Latin music scene. He has toured with and arranged for such diverse artists as Mario Rivera, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Ruben Blades, Bebel Gilberto, and David Byrne.
He is thrilled to play at Soapbox Gallery in duo with Brazilian accordionist, pianist and composer Vitor Goncalves. Steve and Vitor will play original songs as well as traditional choros from Brazil.
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Vitor Gonçalves is a pianist, accordionist, composer and arranger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After an illustrious career as an in demand musician in Brazil, playing with such icons as Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Itiberê Zwarg, and many others, he made the move to New York City, where he currently resides.
Since arriving here in 2012, he has garnered much acclaim and built a star lighted resumé, including features in NPR’s Jazz Night in America, hosted by Christian McBride and The New York Times as a guest of the renowned Spok Frevo Orquestra. A frequent resident on the stages of Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Jazz Standard, and the Jazz Gallery, he both leads his own projects, and collaborates with figures in the New York scene such as Anat Cohen, Vinícius Cantuária, Anthony Wilson, Cyro Baptista, and Yotam Silberstein.
In 2017 he released his debut album on Sunnyside Records, Vitor Gonçalves Quartet, featuring Dan Weiss (drums), Thomas Morgan (bass), and Todd Neufeld (guitar). The album was reviewed with 4 and half stars at Downbeat jazz magazine.
He got two nominations for the Grammy Awards 2020, for Best Latin Jazz album with Thalma de Freitas and for Best Large Jazz Ensemble with Anat Cohen Tentet.