Rio Clemente ~ The Bishop of Jazz

Watchung Arts Center is once again proud to announce the return of critically acclaimed audience favorite Rio Clemente on Saturday, November 6 at 8PM. A consummate jazz musician who has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and NJPAC, Rio holds his audiences spellbound with the sheer brilliance of his improvisations, and his unique fusions of classical passagework with jazz.

Rio Clemente draws the audience up in a musical embrace and then takes them on an extraordinary journey of fanciful melodies and scintillating rhythms. As a master pianist, educator, composer, arranger and recording artist, Clemente mixes a strong classical background with a rich knowledge of jazz history, and then adds an amazing sense of creativity and interpretation. The result is a smorgasbord of music that is different from others, and nearly always produces a standing ovation.

Mr. Clemente has performed from coast to coast for senators, governors, mayors, and other dignitaries and played in jazz clubs from Manhattan to Cape Cod and Florida to California. In December 2011 he tickled the keys of the historic 1938 Steinway piano and charmed the visitors in the East Room of the White House.

With his passionate musicality, impressive technique and nimble facility at the keyboard, Rio brings something very special and decidedly unequaled to his audience. Whether as a solo performer or with a surprise guest or two (we never know), it's always a great night of jazz piano with Rio Clemente.