Paolo Birro & Stefano Olivato

In 1989, Paolo Birro and Stefano Olivato were teaching jazz piano and electric bass respectively at the Dizzy Gillespie School in Bassano del Grappa, founded by Dizzy himself together with Lilian Terry. One day, Paolo played Stefano the album Affinity by Bill Evans and Toots Thielemans: it was a true revelation. Fascinated by the sound of the harmonica, Olivato began a parallel career as a chromatic harmonica player.

Today, thirty-six years later, the two musicians reunite, returning to that original spark. In August 2025, they released the live album Armonica Standards in quartet, and now they present a concert that, inspired by the sonorities of the historic duo, explores the expressive potential of the encounter between piano and harmonica. A creative reinterpretation of jazz standards, searching for unexplored paths and new emotions within the folds of tradition