To perform at the prestigious Birdland Jazz Club is certainly a challenge of epic proportions for any musician if we think of the names that have graced that stage through the years. Artists like Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Lester Young and illustrious guests of the club like Gary Cooper, Marylin Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich and Ava Gardner.

To perform Italian pop songs on that stage could be considered almost a heresy by the purists of jazz. Yet the eMPathia Jazz Duo has been able not only to perform on the Birdland stage–and this year will mark their fourth presence–but to delight the audience with a rich repertoire that has included some Italian classics like Metti una sera a cena, Nessuno, Azzurro, Come prima, Arrivederc and Estate.