Francesco Cafiso & Joe Block Duo

Join us for an exciting jazz night at PianoForte, with the music of Francesco Cafiso and Joe Block.

As the concert unfolds, from the very first to the last note played by Cafiso and Block, a deep sense of mutual understanding clearly emerges. Creativity, emotion, and a touch of artistic madness arise naturally from two musicians who share the same musical language.

The Duo’s repertoire draws both from Cafiso’s original works and from a selection of jazz standards. With his warm, lyrical tone, Cafiso deconstructs melodies, crafting solos of remarkable originality and creativity Block provides his partner with a rich sonic tapestry, shaping melodic lines on the piano within a sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic framework, while never relinquishing his own distinct solo voice. The result is a dialogue of the highest artistic level between two outstanding musicians, confirming the vitality and enduring prestige of jazz today.

The concert is part of the initiatives presented for International Jazz Day 2026.

In November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.

In 2026 the city of Chicago was selected to host the 15th anniversary International Jazz Day celebration in 2026. For over a century, Chicago has been a jazz mecca. As early as the 1920s, jazz musicians sailed up the Mississippi from New Orleans and found the city to be a creative hub. Jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton made their names in the city, developing the “Chicago style” of jazz. This style valued solos, improvisation, big band arrangements and a faster, more rhythmic sound, bringing instruments like the saxophone to the fore. Today, Chicago continues to celebrate its heritage through the Chicago Jazz Festival and iconic venues such as the Green Mill and the Jazz Showcase, founded 75 years ago.

For International Jazz Day 2026, Chicago will also host a series of other jazz concerts, educational initiatives, discussions and events for audiences of all ages, in partnership with the Chicago Jazz Alliance, the Ravinia Festival, the City of Chicago, the Illinois Arts Council, the State of Illinois and others.

Joe Block has ascended to be one of the premier pianists, composers, and bandleaders working in music today. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Block began his musical journey playing classical piano at 2. In middle school, he began regularly studying at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts and the Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program while soaking in the city’s rich jazz scene. Block now resides in New York City and is a graduate of the Columbia-Juilliard dual-degree program (BA ’21 and MM ‘22) where he studied with Geoffrey Keezer, Marc Cary, Ted Rosenthal, and Frank Kimbrough.

Block captures the most special moments and feelings of humanity through his music and compositions. He has played with musicians including Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Leslie Odom Jr. and at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, and the Village Vanguard. He has been nationally recognized as a YoungArts Foundation Finalist, a Jazz at Lincoln Center J. Douglas White Award winner, and has played on Orrin Evans’ Grammy-nominated album, “The Intangible Between”.

Hailed by Jazz at Lincoln Center as one of “jazz’s most promising young composers”, Block is a regular arranger for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He also writes for the Wynton Marsalis Septet, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Grace Kelly, Kenny Overton, and the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia. In April 2023, he served as the musical director and pianist for Internationally Ellington, a Jazz at Lincoln center concert celebrating Duke’s international repertoire featuring drummer Herlin Riley.

In the summer of 2023, he performed at the Village Vanguard with the Kurt Rosenwinkel Quintet and at the Marciac Jazz Festival with the Wynton Marsalis Septet. Most recently, he was named a finalist in the 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition.

Block is the co-founder and leader of the Philadelphia Ambassador Big Band as well as the Joe Block Quintet, where he regularly performs his original compositions. He has taught over 30 students, carrying forward the rich culture of mentorship he was surrounded with.

https://www.joeblockmusic.com/

Francesco Cafiso was barely nine years old when he took his first steps on the stage, working with musicians of international acclaim. 

Since then, Francesco has gone on to perform with a dizzying array of the biggest names in jazz, including Hank Jones, Dave Brubeck, Cedar Walton, Mulgrew Miller, Jimmy Cobb, Ben Riley, Ray Drummond, Lewis Nash, James Williams, Joe Lovano, Christian McBride, George Mraz, Kenny Wheeler, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Enrico Rava, and Stefano Bollani, to name but a few.

A decisive moment in Francesco’s career came in 2002, when he met Wynton Marsalis at the Pescara Jazz Festival, in Italy. Amazed by what he heard from the thirteen-year-old, Marsalis invited Francesco to join his septet in Europe the following year on a tour that included some of the most prestigious theaters in Europe. From that moment on, Francesco’s career took off, both in Italy and abroad. He won various important prizes: the Massimo Urbani National Award in Urbisaglia, the EuroJazz Award in Lecco, the International Jazz Festivals Organization Award in New York, the World Saxophone Competition in London, and the Django d’Or in Rome amongst many others.

In search of new experiences, musical styles and genres, Francesco then traveled to New Orleans, where he played with Ellis Marsalis and many other important local musicians. In 2004, he was featured as a special guest at Italy’s Sanremo Music Festival. In the 2005 edition of Swing Journal, the authoritative Japanese jazz music magazine, he was presented with the New Stars Award: a prize reserved for emerging foreign talents. The same year, he was awarded the “Best New Talent” in the Top Jazz charts of the Italian magazine, “Musica Jazz”. In 2006, Francesco graduated from the Musical Institute Vincenzo Bellini in Catania with a Diploma in Transverse Flute. In 2008, Francesco took on the role of Artistic Director at the Vittoria Jazz Festival, in his native city; a role which he continues to fulfill today. On January 19, 2009, he performed in Washington DC during the celebrations in honor of President Barak Obama for Martin Luther King Jr Day. On July 17, 2009, the Umbria Jazz Foundation named Francesco “Ambassador of Italian Jazz Music Around the World.”  In 2012, he arranged “Don’t Stop”: the music used in an ongoing commercial for ENI Station. In 2010, he obtained a Masters Degree in Jazz at the Corelli Conservatory of Messina. Soon after, he was featured in the “Best of Italian Jazz” festival at the Shanghai Expo in China. In July 2012, he was invited to perform in London for the Summer Olympics, at the headquarters of “Casa Italia” in the presence of the Italian Ambassador in London and of the leaders of CONI (the Italian National Olympic Committee). In September of the same year, during an extended stay in the USA, he held a series of saxophone master classes at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In June 2013, at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Consulate General of Philadelphia, in collaboration with the American Secretary of State John Kerry, Francesco represented Italy during the celebrations for the “Year of Italian Culture” in the United States. On February 20, 2014, Francesco received the “Grand Award of Merit” from the “American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit” in New York, on behalf of the many Sicilian musicians that have contributed to the development of jazz music throughout the world. In March 2015, Francesco’s ambitious work entitled “3” was released (Alfredo Lo Faro Productions). It consists of three albums, each unique in their own right: “La Banda”, “Contemplation” and “20 Cents per Note”. The three albums see Francesco in the role of composer, arranger, and performer. In 2016, Francesco created and launched his own jazz record label, named “EFLAT Records”. In 2017, Francesco recorded the album “We Play For Tips” at the Vittoria Jazz Festival, which was released in 2018 on his record label, EFLAT Records, obtaining widespread acclaim and recognition from specialized critics. In 2019, Francesco returned to the recording studio with the infamous London Symphony Orchestra, giving life to his project “Irene of Boston – Conversation avec Corto Maltese”, which was released in 2020. On December 27, 2022, Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Italian Republic, knighted Francesco with the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. The decree, coming directly from Mattarella himself, is the highest recognition the President of the Republic can confer. On May 19, 2023, Francesco received a graduate Artist’s Diploma in Jazz Studies from The Juilliard School of New York. ​In 2024, the website JazzTokyo selected Francesco’s concert held at the Italian Institute of Culture of Tokyo as the best performance of the year.

Francesco continues to perform throughout the world with various musical ensembles under his own direction.

https://www.francescocafisomusic.com/

Presented by the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago