Ralph Johnson helps sax man Peter Cardarelli celebrate his new CD.Danka Hašková
Summer is one of the most interesting seasons in Bratislava because of all the concerts and theater performances taking place in cafés and restaurant gardens. Some of the hottest of these concerts are being staged by Peter Cardarelli, a US jazz musician on the staff of the Applied Music Faculty at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Currently living in Bratislava, Cardarelli has made many appearances in Slovakia, but still considers the US as his musical home base. Apart from his current Jazz Quartet, he has opened for Kool and the Gang, B.B.King, Maynard Ferguson and many other groups over the years.
In 1992 Cardarelli visited Slovakia for the first time to see his Slovak wife's family, and began to play his sax on the Slovak stage. During 1997, he began to play regularly with Slovak and Czech musicians, among whom were well-known names like vocalist Peter Lipa, pianist Gabriel Joná, bassist Juraj Griglák, guitarist Juraj Burian and drummer Dodo Šošoka. After releasing a new CD in the spring of 1998, Cardarelli has spent time touring the castles, churches, theaters, pubs and cafés of Slovakia, playing jazz tunes from the new release to packed audiences. At least five more concerts are planned for early November around Slovakia. Apart from his regular Bratislava appearances (Black Rose Pub, The Czech Centre, Prašná Bašta), Cardarelli has played sold-out venues in towns where jazz has never been performed before (places like Vranov nad Topľou or Humenné, where politicians Eduard Kukan and Milan Kňažko came to help christen the new CD). He says that "in the past few years, the public's attitude has changed and jazz stages have been built, which shows that there is a demand for jazz music. Moreover, I have seen the good support that jazz music receives in such cities."
Cardarelli says he enjoys being in Slovakia with his family, and sees the country as a place where families sit down together for lunch on Sundays, where fathers walk with their children, where jazz music gets as much respect as classical music. He finds the new-old country atmosphere of Slovakia exciting, and enjoys being part of Slovak jazz history.
Cardarelli's next Bratislava concerts will take place at 8:30 pm on August 18 at the Jungle Café, 7 pm August 19 at Prašná Bašta restaurant and August 28 at Primaciálny Palác.
