Gianni Gardner & Ascent at The Side Door – Old Lyme, CT

Gianni Gardner – Guitar

Mackenzie McCarthy – Tenor Saxophone

Francesco Pollon – Piano

Conway Campbell Jr. – Bass

Peru Eizagirre – Drums

Gianni Gardner is an up-and-coming jazz guitarist and composer living in New York City. He is best known for his quintet, Ascent, who performs original compositions. Ascent draws inspiration from innovative composers of a variety of generations such as The Miles Davis Second Great Quintet, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Pat Metheny, Kurt Rosenwinkel and his former professor, Jimmy Greene. Ascent features both international and local musicians who reside in New York City, including tenor saxophonist Mackenzie McCarthy from Sacramento, California, pianist Francesco Pollon from Venice, Italy, bassist Conway Campbell Jr. from Worcester, Massachusetts, and drummer Peru Eizagirre from The Basque Country, Spain.

Having just completed his Masters of Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music (’24), Gianni studied and was deeply influenced by a wide variety of renowned jazz musicians such as guitarist Mike Moreno, pianist Marc Cary, bassist John Benitez and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen.

Gianni has also been regularly called to play with Connecticut based Latin Jazz group, Ed Fast and Conga Bop, performing at renowned venues such as The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT, The Iridium and The Django. Gianni is also the guitarist in Sean Nelson’s New London Big Band, where they recently recorded their upcoming album, “Don’t Stop Now – The Lost Music of Thad Jones and Harry James”, set to release in April of 2025, and presented the music at Birdland Jazz Club featuring lead trumpeter, Wayne Bergeron, and drummer John Riley of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Gianni also performs with John Benitez’s Afro Cuban Jazz Band, and John Smatla’s award winning band, Ultrablue.

In June of 2024, Ascent recorded their upcoming debut album, “The Ascent,” currently available on all streaming services and Bandcamp. This recording features a diverse mix of music ranging from hard swinging straight ahead jazz, danceable upbeat groove pieces, emotional ballads, and an overall honest depiction of each musicians’ unique voice.