“[Shiri] has found the perfect setting for her gem-like voice in an unusual trio with Muscatello’s spare, ghostly tones and the simmering Brazilian beats of percussion master Mauricio Zottarelli.”
~Allen Morrison, DownBeat
Photograph of Shiri Zorn by Terri-Lynn Pellegri
Vocalist Shiri Zorn began her collaboration with the ingenious guitarist and composer George Muscatello in 2013, shortly after she relocated to Upstate New York. Performing regularly throughout the region, she co-creates original songs and innovative renditions of existing jazz repertoire. From 2007–2011, Zorn lived and performed in Seattle, Washington, sharing the stage with some of the nation’s most renowned musicians, including Greta Matassa, Darin Clendenin, Chris Symer, and Beth Winter. Her pure tone and insightful phrasing were nurtured during her vocal studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England, where she studied voice and piano from 2001-2005. Born and raised in Israel, she began studying classical piano at the age of 6. Her love of jazz was cemented at Israel’s leading school for the arts, Thelma Yelin, where she was first drawn to the music of Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen Mc Rae.
Photograph of George Muscatello by Rudy Lu
George Muscatello, guitarist, composer and arranger has performed around the NYS Capital Region for the past 40 years with world class musicians and has toured throughout southern France.
An SCCC and MSM alumnus, he has taught at the National Guitar Workshop, the Skidmore Summer Jazz Institute and has been a lecturer at Skidmore college for the past 18 years.
George really likes playing, thinking and sharing ideas about the guitar these days. He enjoys making music with his friends, doing Pilates and watching how much he is lost in thought.
Photograph of Mauricio Zottarelli by Tomer Rom
Percussionist Mauricio Zottarelli’s most recent solo album, Upside Down Looking Up, consists of mainly original compositions. Songwriter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and frequent collaborator with renowned jazz, Latin, and Brazilian artists, Zottarelli has appeared on over a hundred albums and counting. He has been based in NYC since attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he studied Film Scoring, Performance, and Arranging. His first solo album, 7 Lives, was released in 2009. Since then, other notable projects have included collaborations with the Dig Trio, pianist Gilson Schachnik (MOZIK, 2011), bassist Amanda Ruzza (Glasses, No Glasses, 2014), a Grammy-nominated album with Eddie Daniels (Heart of Brazil, 2019), and he is both co-producer and drummer on Sergio Pereira’s 2022 release, Finesse. Zottarelli is the 2012 winner of the prestigious Brazilian Music Awards (Prêmio da Música Brasileira) and contributes thought-provoking articles to Modern Drummer and Jazz Inside magazines.