Davide Pannozzo Trio ft. Etienne Stadwijk & Shawn Pelton | Soul-Funk / Blues | IT/USA

Line-up

Davide Pannozzo | guitar, vocals
George Benson, Steve Jordan, David Garfield, Phil Palmer, Robben Ford, Oz Noy, Carl Verheyen, Clifford Carter, Davide Rossi

Etienne Stadwijk | keyboards
Paul Simon, Maxwell, Marcus Miller, Richard Bona, Harry Belafonte, Nona Hendryx, KJ Denhert, Raul Midón, Michael Olatuja, Alicia Olatuja

Shawn Pelton | drums
Saturday Night Live, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Elton John, Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, David Byrne, The Brecker Brothers

Style

Contemporary blues and New York soul-funk, with guitar and vocals at the center, orchestral keyboards, and studio-band drums.

The trio works through essentials: clear riffs, mobile harmonies, bass implied by the keyboards, and a groove that always remains readable.

Pannozzo’s writing becomes a compact live format spanning electric blues, jazz-fusion, and soulful songwriting.

Profile

Davide Pannozzo Trio ft. Etienne Stadwijk & Shawn Pelton reduces the architecture of the quartet to a more essential form without losing sonic breadth. Pannozzo’s guitar and voice guide the melodic narrative; Stadwijk expands the harmonic field through piano, keyboards, voicings, and supporting lines; Pelton builds the pocket with precise, elastic, deeply musical drumming. The result is a trio that does not try to fill every space, but organizes it: blues remains the grammatical center, while soul-funk, jazz-fusion, and contemporary songwriting define color, dynamics, and direction. The interplay thrives on immediate response, volume control, and a strong sense of form. This is a band designed for the stage: direct, articulate, and able to preserve the weight of the groove in a lean configuration.

Details

Davide Pannozzo | guitar, vocals. Leader of the project, Pannozzo brings a vocal guitar style rooted in blues and filtered through jazz harmony, tonal control, and songwriter craft. Sources document collaborations with George Benson, Steve Jordan, David Garfield, Phil Palmer, Robben Ford, Oz Noy, and Carl Verheyen; Rock & Blues Muse also notes the Emergenza European Acoustic Festival 2009 and Groove Master Award 2010. Carl Verheyen wrote in 2017: “Tone just drips from Davide’s fingers.”

Etienne Stadwijk | keyboards. A keyboardist and producer, Stadwijk acts as the trio’s harmonic architect: Rhodes, piano, organ, synths, voicings, and countermelodies expand the guitar and can also sustain the bass’s rhythmic and harmonic function. A New York-based Berklee graduate, he is documented alongside Paul Simon, Maxwell, Marcus Miller, Richard Bona, Harry Belafonte, Nona Hendryx, and Michael Olatuja. London Jazz News highlighted the tightness of Richard Bona’s band and Stadwijk’s solos in 2013.

Shawn Pelton | drums. Pelton is the trio’s dynamic engine: controlled backbeat, ghost notes, session precision, and the ability to give weight to the groove without making it rigid. A drummer with the Saturday Night Live band since 1992, he has recorded or performed with Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Elton John, Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, David Byrne, and The Brecker Brothers. International Musician captured his working method in 2024: “They say the harder you work, the luckier you can be.”

Discography

Davide Pannozzo: Born Electric, A Portrait of Jimi Hendrix, Unconditional Love, and Room for Joy; recent singles and releases include Be Blessed, Keep On Loving You, Love Is a Simple Thing, Without You, Once Again, St. Louis Blues, Imagine, Plug It In, Leroy’s Blues, The Thrill Is Gone, Christmas In New York, and The Subway Song. His documented discography centers on modern blues, melodic phrasing, songwriting, and New York production.

Etienne Stadwijk: Then Why?! as a single under his own name; official credits connected with Michael Olatuja’s Lagos Pepper Soup, Alicia and Michael Olatuja’s Olatuja, and Jonah David’s Waltz for Eli include Fender Rhodes, organ, keyboards, and writing. His discography crosses jazz, soul, gospel, world music, and contemporary vocal production.

Shawn Pelton: selected discography as a session drummer and long-standing musician with Saturday Night Live, The Brecker Brothers, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, William Bell, Ray Charles, and New York’s television and live circuit. Sources document his presence on Grammy-winning albums and high-profile pop, rock, soul, and roots productions.

Quotes

“Tone just drips from Davide’s fingers.” — Carl Verheyen; guitarist and session musician, quoted in Music Republic Magazine’s review of Unconditional Love; Music Republic Magazine; 2017-10-19; source

“Be Blessed is a chill instrumental that overflows with understated emotion and casts its shadow somewhere between the upscale blues of Robben Ford and the deep melodicism of Duke Ellington.” — Martine Ehrenclou; Rock & Blues Muse; 2022-07-07; source

“Every note serves the song. Every phrase is placed with intention.” — Rock & Blues Muse; article on The Subway Song; 2026-04-13; source

“The band was very tight, with very nice solos from Greeblatt and Stadwjik.” — Maciek Pysz; London Jazz News; 2013-10-08; source

“Injustice of any kind is something that affects me deeply on many levels.” — Etienne Stadwijk; BroadwayWorld; 2020-06-22; source

“They say the harder you work, the luckier you can be.” — Shawn Pelton; International Musician; 2024-09-01; source

Reviews

Davide Pannozzo Releases ‘The Subway Song’ New Single — Rock & Blues Muse; Martine Ehrenclou; 2026-04-13;
rockandbluesmuse.com
An article on The Subway Song, described as contemporary blues with expressive vocals, melodic guitar, and narrative space. It positions Pannozzo as a modern writer more interested in phrasing, intention, and song form than in technical density alone.

Celebrated Guitarist Davide Pannozzo Releases New Single “Be Blessed” — Rock & Blues Muse; Martine Ehrenclou; 2022-07-07;
rockandbluesmuse.com
An article on the soulful, melodic, jazz-inflected instrumental Be Blessed. It also traces Pannozzo’s path through awards, EmArcy/Universal releases, and international collaborations.

Davide Pannozzo: Unconditional Love — Music Republic Magazine; Simon Redley; 2017-10-19;
musicrepublicmagazine.com
A 5/5 review presenting Unconditional Love as an album centered on blues, fusion, and soul feel. It highlights Pannozzo’s tone, writing, and connection with the New York scene.

Review: Richard Bona at Pizza Expres — London Jazz News; Maciek Pysz; 2013-10-08;
londonjazznews.com
A live review of Richard Bona’s group with Etienne Stadwijk on keyboards and piano. It praises the band’s tightness, audience response, and Stadwijk’s solos, documenting his ability to support both groove and improvisation.

Multi-Instrumentalist and Producer Etienne Stadwijk Releases a Powerful Response to the Current Social Climate — BroadwayWorld; A.A. Cristi; 2020-06-22;
broadwayworld.com
An article on Then Why?!, presenting Stadwijk as a keyboardist, producer, and socially engaged writer active across recording, production, and live performance.

The Ultimate Union Gig: Live from New York on a Saturday Night — International Musician; 2024-09-01;
internationalmusician.org
A profile of Shawn Pelton and his role in the Saturday Night Live band, focused on method, discipline, versatility, and pressure management in live television.

#269 Shawn Pelton – Drummer for SNL, Sheryl Crow, Session Great, and More! — Discussions in Percussion; Damon Grant; 2022-02-23;
discussionsinpercussion.com
A podcast interview covering Pelton’s career with Saturday Night Live, session work, rhythmic programming, Live From Daryl’s House, and recordings with major artists.

Reviewed: Jonah David | Adrian Galante | Mingus — Jazz Journal; John White; 2025-06-11;
jazzjournal.co.uk
A review including Jonah David’s Waltz for Eli, a project featuring Etienne Stadwijk on keyboards and in the writing credits, supporting his profile in contemporary melodic jazz.