Vince Giordano: Brooklyn’s king of 1920s jazz
He's heard on `Boardwalk Empire,' in Woody Allen movies
Anyone who watches “Boardwalk Empire,” about Atlantic City during the 1920s, when corruption ruled the boardwalk and Prohibition was basically ignored there, is familiar with Brooklynite Vince Girodano’s music.
Giordano, 61, who has lived in Midwood since 1979, and his orchestra, the Nighthawks, provide the authentic arrangements that capture the era. But his achievements don’t stop there.
He was featured as both an actor and musician in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1984 film “The Cotton Club,” about the legendary Harlem nightclub of the 1920s and early 1930s. Soon, he received a phone call from Dick Hyman, music director for Woody Allen and a fellow aficionado of 1920s jazz.
For Giordano, this led to parts as a musician in half-a-dozen Woody Allen movies, including “Zelig,” “Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Everyone Says I Love You” and others. In addition, his orchestra has been heard on the soundtracks of “Ghost World,” “Finding Forrester,” “Bullets of Broadway” and other films.