VINCE GIORDANO & THE NIGHTHAWKS Move to IGUANA Restaurant After Closing of Sofia's Theatre; Opening Night on 9/9 at 8pm

By: Sep. 01, 2013
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Sofia's Downstairs Theatre and it's sister restaurant on West 46th Street--the site where the Luca Brasi murder scene was filmed for The Godfather--may now sleep with the fishes, but Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, who for the past five years and more than 500 shows have been playing at the venue and keeping alive the big band music of the jazz and swing eras of the 1920s, will be swimming upstream to a new home at the Iguana Restaurant on 54th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue). Giordano was forced to move when earlier this summer The Hotel Edison decided not to renew Sofia Restaurant's lease (after jacking up the rent exponentially). The Nighthawks, who played at Sofia's downstairs club every Monday and Tuesday nights from 8 to 11pm, will have the same weekly performance schedule at Iguana beginning on September 9. The cover will be $15 with a $20 food/drink minimum. Couples who know how to cut a rug in a variety of dancing styles were regulars when the Nighthawks played at Sofia's and passionate dancers should be able to boogie in the large upstairs area at Iguana where the band will hold court.

If you're a fan of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, you often hear the music of Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, who won a 2012 Grammy Award for "Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media" for their work on the show. The Nighthawks are also heard on the USA Network series Royal Pains. The band (originally known as the New Orleans Nighthawks) was formed in 1976 and has been booked for black tie galas at the New York Public Library, the Waldorf Astoria, the Rainbow Room and many private events for the patrons of the NY Pops, NYC Opera, NYC Ballet and countless charitable organizations. Giordano has also performed at the Smithsonian Institute, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Jazz Festivals around the world. Early appearances with Leon Redbone and A Prairie Home Companion and then lending his musical and acting talents to Francis Ford Coppola's film The Cotton Club, led to working with Dick Hyman's Orchestra in half a dozen Woody Allen soundtracks, then acting as a bass player, most notably in Sean Penn's band in Allen's film Sweet And Lowdown. Giordano and the band have been both onscreen and in the studio for Gus Van Sant's film Finding Forrester; in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator; and Sam Mendes' film Revolutionary Road. Other recording projects include soundtracks for HBO's - Grey Gardens and Todd Haynes' HBO mini-series MildrEd Pierce.

Iguana Restaurant, 240 West 54th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue). Reservations: 212-765-5454. Doors open 7pm.



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