Jazzitalia

Dick Fregulia has been playing jazz piano gigs in the San Francisco area for half a century, as a soloist, sideman, accompanist to jazz vocalists, and leader of his own jazz combos. For 35 years he was featured Thursday nights at Washington Square Bar and Grill in San Francisco's North Beach. His early influences were Ahmad Jamal, George Shearing, and Oscar Peterson, leading to a lifelong admiration for Bill Evans as a trio pianist and Art Tatum as a solo pianist. In recent years he has focused on expanding opportunities to perform with his piano trio and his Good Vibes Quintet/Quartet/Trio As a 'jazz recording artist' Dick created Blue Koala Records in 1978 with the highly acclaimed solo piano LP, 'Sunday Morning at Washington Square.' He has since produced over 20 recording projects, both as a soloist and in various combinations with vocalists and different groups of musicians. His newest release, 'jazzitalia,' features Bill Moody on drums and Steve Webber on bass playing compositions by Italian jazz artists. His previous CD's include 'Re: Person I Knew' (a tribute to the Bill Evans trios), Art For Sale (the Dick Fregulia Trio), I'll String Along With You (the Dick Fregulia Stringalong Trio with Brandon Robinson on guitar), Live at Kuumbwa (the Good Vibes Quintet), and That's Amore (trio arrangements of 13 songs by Harry Warren), all available on line at cdbaby.com.