Jazz Musician Tony Bragano and Singer Mali Benvenutti

Welcome to N the Queue with Arlene Barshinger and Mark A Johnston.

This episode of N the Queue features Jazz Musician Tony Bragano and the lovely singer Mali Benvenutti.

Tony Bragano was first introduced to music at 14 years old when he used to watch his father play guitar. He persuaded his father to teach him how to play. With a passion for learning new things, Tony next became drawn to his mom's piano. One routine day, while driving to business school and listening to smooth jazz radio, he heard the Soprano Saxophone. “Right then I knew that’s what I wanted to play,” he said. “The soprano sax likes fewer notes, longer notes and a slower tempo. The Saxophone would allow me to express in a way I couldn’t on Guitar and Piano.”

Oakland native Mali Benvenutti has sung professionally since she was a young teen with the St. Paul's Choir and Oakland Youth Chorus, performing for audiences across country, including Maya Angelou and First Lady Hillary Clinton. In 2006, Mali tried out for American Idol with her twin sister Jamie and the pair recorded two CDs before Mali teamed up with Tony Bragano in 2011 and co-wrote a song on his newly released album, "Take It Easy." While singing is her passion, Mali earned her M.A. in education at Mills and currently works as a publishing assistant for local author Richard L. Wren.