Nicola Cipani è nato a Losanna nel 1965, è cresciuto a Milano, ha studiato filologia classica a Berlino e si è trasferito negli Stati Uniti nel 1998. Vive a Brooklyn e insegna alla New York University. Suona il pianoforte da più di trent’anni.Nicola Cipani was born in Lausanne in 1965, grew up in Milan, studied classical philology in Berlin, and moved to the United States in 1998. He now lives in Brooklyn and teaches at New York University. He has been playing piano for over thirty years.

Nasce a Verona nell’anno del cane il 9 Elul 5730 nel segno della vergine. Era un giovedì. L’arrivo fu evidentemente devastante, il giorno dopo un tornado colpisce la città di Venezia e causa 30 vittime, otto giorni dopo il celebre chitarrista e cantante Jimi Hendrix viene trovato morto a Londra in una camera d’albergo (il Samarkland Hotel). Lo seguiranno presto la cantante Janis Joplin ed il sassofonista Albert Ayler, ripescato nell’East River a New York. Quello fu anche l’anno però della partita del secolo, la ormai leggendaria Italia – Germania 4 a 3 che il nostro segue immerso nel liquido amniotico. Poco prima le isole Tonga, già protettorato britannico, ottengono la piena indipendenza, I Beatles si sciolgono ed il Cagliari vince lo scudetto.
Cresce serenamente ricoprendo il ruolo di portiere per poi passare alla batteria. In effetti il passo è più breve di quel che si pensi, entrambi I ruoli sono fondamentali, oltrettutto offrono la medesima visuale del gioco. Il suo stile in effetti si può definire una sintesi tra Shelly Manne ed Ivano Bordon.
Vive leggermente al di sopra delle sue possibilità tra Napoli e Berlino in pratica a Verona. Zeno de Rossi was born in Verona, Italy in the year of the dog on Elul 9, 5730 under the sign of virgo. It was a thursday.

Zeno plays drums in the following bands: SULTRY, SHTIK, KRIMINAL MUSEUM, MESHUGE KLEZMER BAND, ROPE, FULL METAL KLEZMER, WERGELD, MICKEY FINN, HENRY TAYLOR, GALLO AND THE ROOSTERS, ENRICO TERRAGNOLI ORCHESTRA VERTICAL, FRANCO D’ANDREA NEW QUARTET/NEW ELEVEN/FIVE, VINICIO CAPOSSELA, JESSICA LURIE TIGER TIGER, ALFONSO SANTIMONE LASER PIGS, GUANO PADANO, HOUDINI’s CAGE, EL GALLO ROJO, FRANCESCO BEARZATTI TINISSIMA, GIOVANNI MAIER TECHNICOLOR a.o.

His stylistic versatility have been featured with Chris Speed, Cuong Vu, Briggan Krauss, Anthony Coleman, Josh Roseman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Ben Street, Jay Rodriguez, Jamie Saft, Ted Reichman, Oscar Noriega, Frank London, Dave Harris, Pete Fitzpatrick, Ralph Alessi, Jessica Lurie, Danijel Zezelj, Kyle Gregory, Paolo Birro, Giovanni Maier, Francesco Bearzatti, Gianluca Petrella, Simone Guiducci, Franco D’Andrea, Stefano Battaglia, Gianni Gebbia, Vincenzo Vasi, Domenico Caliri, Daniele D’Agaro, Marco Cappelli, Cristina Zavalloni, Giovanni Falzone, Vinicio Capossela, Roy Paci, Matteo Salvatore, Marc Ribot, Flaco Jimenez, Shane Mac Gowan, Vinicius Cantuaria, Mario Brunello, Mark Orton, Gary Valente, David Murray, Amy Denio, Paul Shapiro, Papos Manolis, Simone Massaron, Xabier Iriondo, Carla Bozulich a.o.

From 2005 he is a member of the El Gallo Rojo collective.

Zeno has toured in Italy, Finland, Austria, Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Holland, Poland, Slovenja, Croatia, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Perù, China, Greece, Cuba, Ethiopia, Canada, Portugal, Serbia and the USA.

Xabier Iriondo (Milano, febbraio 1971) è un chitarrista italiano.
Nasce nel quartiere Isola a Milano nel 1971, da padre basco e madre italiana.
All’età di 17 anni inizia a suonare la chitarra da autodidatta. Questa passione per le corde lo accompagna tuttora.
Tra il 1992 ed il 2001 collabora alla realizzazione di 5 album e centinaia di concerti con la alternative rock band Afterhours, 3 album con la indie/rock band Six Minute War Madness e 3 album + 2 miniCD con il progetto A Short Apnea.
Nel 2005 apre a Milano “Soundmetak”, un negozio/laboratorio dove vende strumenti musicali particolari ed organizza performances musicali.
In questi ultimi tempi è coinvolto come chitarrista/manipolatore sonoro in progetti quali Uncode Duello, The Shipwreck Bag Show e No Guru.
Ha suonato dal vivo in Europa e Giappone e collaborato (dal vivo ed in studio) con svariati artisti tra cui: Damo Suzuki, ZU, Sinistri, Wu Fei, Gianni Gebbia, Steve Piccolo, Eraldo Bernocchi, Cristiano Calcagnile, Bruno Dorella, Elio Martuscello, Vincenzo Vasi, Alberto Morelli, Verdena, Simone Massaron, Gak Sato, Franceco Cusa, Gianni Mimmo, Mirko Sabatini, Juan Mordecai, aka_Bondage, Cristina Donà, Stefano Giust, Angelo Contini, Stefania Pedretti, Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo, Diego Sapignoli, Olivier Manchion, Claudio Rocchetti, Christian Alati, Andrea Belfi, Madame P, Nicola Ratti, Antonio Gramentieri, Carla Bozulich e tanti altri.
Nel tour estivo del 2010, dopo anni di lontananza dagli Afterhours, Xabier torna a suonare con la sua storica band, ma ancora non è noto se è solo una collaborazione provvisoria, o una rientro in via definitiva.Xabier Iriondo born in the Isola area in Milan (Italy) in the early seventies from basque father and italian mother.
At the age of seventeen he began to amuse himself with an electric guitar and he still does now.
Between 1992 and 2001 he made 5 albums and hundreds of concerts with the pop/rock band Afterhours, 3 albums with the indie/rock band Six Minute War Madness and 3 albums + 2 miniCDs with the A Short Apnea project.
In 2005 he opens in Milan SOUND METAK, a vintage/collector instruments and musical objects shop where he organize concerts/performances.
In these times he’s involved as guitarist/sound manipulator in the projects Uncode Duello, Polvere, Tasaday, etc
Xabier Iriondo has played live around Europe and Japan and collaborated (live and studio) with the following bands as musicians: Damo Suzuki, ZU, Sinistri, Wu Fei, Gianni Gebbia, Steve Piccolo, Eraldo Bernocchi, Cristiano Calcagnile, Bruno Dorella, Elio Martuscello, Vincenzo Vasi, Alberto Morelli, Verdena, Simone Massaron, Gak Sato, Franceco Cusa, Gianni Mimmo, Mirko Sabatini, Juan Mordecai, aka_Bondage, Cristina Donà, Stefano Giust, Angelo Contini, Stefania Pedretti, Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo, Diego Sapignoli, Olivier Manchion, Claudio Rocchetti, Christian Alati, Andrea Belfi, Madame P, Nicola Ratti, Antonio Gramentieri, Carla Bozulich and many others.

Dallo sbarco a San Francisco nel 1992, Scott Amendola è stato nominato per un Grammy con la band TJ Kirk, ha registrato tre dischi con Charlie Hunter per la Blue Note, ha girato il mondo ed è apparso sulla televisione nazionale con il quartetto di Charlie Hunter, forma il suo personale creativo, quintetto , e ha inciso o performato con decine di musicisti, tra cui Bill Frisell, John Zorn, Tony Furtado, Noe Venable e Jacky Terrasson, fra molti altri. Amendola l’ispirazione scaturisce da una grande quantità di influenze stilistiche come la musica africana, jazz, blues, spirituals, rock, e l’avanguardia. Scott non è mai stato soddisfatto di essere solo un batterista . Ha trascorso la sua carriera musicale spingendo verso nuove direzioni, in particolare con il suo ultimo progetto: la Scott Amendola Band, per il quale è il direttore d’orchestra e compone e organizza tutta la musica. Il CD di debutto omonimo vede la collaborazione di Jenny Scheinman al violino, il chitarrista Dave Mac Nab, il bassista Todd Sickafoose, e Eric Crystal sulle canne. Scott spazia dalla musica dal groove incisivo alle ballate , e dalle sue composizioni originali a cover di artisti come Jimi Hendrix, Fela, e Nick Drake.Since landing in San Francisco in 1992, Scott Amendola has been nominated for a Grammy with the band T.J. Kirk, recorded three records with Charlie Hunter for Blue Note, toured the world and appeared on national television with The Charlie Hunter Quartet, formed his own inventive, house-packing quintet, and has recorded or performed with dozens of musicians, including Bill Frisell, John Zorn, Tony Furtado, Noe Venable and Jacky Terrasson, among many others. Amendola’s inspiration stems from such stylistic influences as African music, jazz, blues, spirituals, rock, and the avant garde. Scott has never been satisfied with just being a masterful drummer. He has spent his career pushing music in new directions; most notably with his latest project: The Scott Amendola Band, for which the bandleader composes and arranges all the music. The self-titled debut CD features Jenny Scheinman on violin, guitarist Dave Mac Nab, bassist Todd Sickafoose, and Eric Crystal on reeds. Scott’s music ranges from hard-hitting grooves to lush ballads, and from his original compositions to covers by such artists as Jimi Hendrix, Fela, and Nick Drake.
“One thing for certain, the music doesn’t sound quite like anything else,” describes Steven Raphael of Modern Drummer magazine. “There is a phenomenal interaction of five distinct musical voices. Amendola and his hand-picked crew take responsive improvisation to new heights.” For Amendola, “it’s all about improvisation and opening up the music so that anything can happen.” Just as importantly, Scott strives to create a “band sound,” a oneness among the players that at once challenges and complements each musician. Once the band is in that deep pocket, the audience can’t help feeling it.
In addition to his own new release, some other recent recordings that Scott can be heard on are: The Nels Cline Singers Instrumentals (Cryptogramophone), Jenny Scheinman Quartet Live at Yoshi’s (Tzadik), The Tony Furtado Band (Cojema), Jim Campilongo’s Live at the Du Nord (Ethic), Noe Venable’s Boots (Petrydish), Paul Sprawl’s Blue Suitcase (Intuition), and Paul Plimley’s Safe-Crackers (Victo). Over the past ten years Scott has toured, recorded, or performed with Bill Frisell, Dave Liebman, John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, Jacky Terrasson, Shweta Jhaveri, Larry Goldings, Sex Mob, Robin Holcomb and the Joe Goode Dance Group, Wayne Horvitz, Johnny Griffin, Viktor Krauss, Paul Plimley, Tony Furtado, Jack Walrath, Julian Priester, Sonny Simmons, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Pat Martino, Nels Cline, Peter Apfelbaum, Jim Campilongo, Bobby Black, Paul McCandless, Ben Goldberg, Mark Turner, Michael Franti, Primus, Nina Hagen, Phil Lesh, Leight and Matt from Six Pence None the Richer, and others, and has toured extensively throughout Europe, North America, and Australia.

Nels Cline (nato a Los Angeles nel 1956) è un chitarrista e compositore, attualmente chitarrista dei Wilco alternative rock band. È stato definito come “uno dei migliori chitarristi di ogni genere.”Nels Cline is one of the most versatile, imaginative, and criminally unheralded guitarists active today, a dubious distinction he shares with Christy Doran, James Emery, and a handful of others. Combining jaw-dropping chops with a keen musical intelligence, Cline displays an encyclopedic mastery of guitar styles that encompasses delicate lyricism, sonic abstractions, and skull-crunching metallic flights.
In the late 1970s, Cline played in the chamber-jazz group Quartet Music with his brother, percussionist Alex Cline, Jeff Gauthier and Eric von Essen. He emerged from several years in relative obscurity with his 1987 release, Angelica, which added acid-toned New York City altoist Tim Berne to a roster of longtime Cline collaborators. In the early 1990s, the guitarist formed the amped-up Nels Cline Trio, perhaps the best vehicle to date for Cline’s guitar excursions, which range from probing, reflective balladry to knotty riffing to bracing freeform assaults. In addition to his trio, Cline regularly performs with his brother and the constellation of creative musicians associated with reedsman Vinny Golia’s adventurous Nine Winds record label.
He is also active in the rock domain, collaborating with ex-Minuteman Mike Watt, avant country-rockers Geraldine Fibbers, and Sonic Youth guitar terrorist Thurston Moore, among others.

Nel giugno del 1988 si diploma in contrabbasso presso il Conservatorio “G. Tartini” di Trieste.

Attualmente sta sviluppando un proprio progetto basato sul contrabbasso solo che è iniziato nel 1994 e che è documentato dai CD: “Polaroid”, “Exposure”, “Audiosmog”, “Domino 02”, “The face of the bass”.

Dal 1989 ad oggi ha partecipato (anche con gruppi guidati da lui stesso o in solo) a svariati jazz festival in tutto il mondo (Francia, Yugoslavia, Cecoslovacchia, Grecia, Macedonia, Germania, Austria, Belgio, Slovenia, Finlandia, Croazia, Svizzera, Tunisia, Spagna, Inghilterra, Canada, Giappone, Olanda, Danimarca, Norvegia, U.S.A., Turchia, Giordania, Brasile).

Ha preso parte nel 1995 alla realizzazione della Colonna Sonora (musiche di T. Tononi) del film “Ketchup”, che ha ricevuto il Primo Premio al Festival di Venezia nella sezione Cortometraggi.

Nel settembre del 1996 ha partecipato alla “Conduction n° 61” di Butch Morris al Teatro Podewil di Berlino.

Ha collaborato inoltre con l’orchestra del Teatro “G. Verdi” di Trieste e al Laboratorio Lirico di Alessandria (esecuzione in prima nazionale di un’opera del compositore tedesco S. Matthus) ed è stato selezionato per la partecipazione all’Orchestra Internazionale di Alpe Adria.

Nel 1991 ha partecipato ai Seminari Jazz di Siena e nel 1993 ha preso parte ad un Workshop con Roscoe Mitchell e Muhal Richards Abrams.

Ha inoltre suonato con molti musicisti di fama internazionale:

Enrico Rava, Gianluigi Trovesi, Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, Roswell Rudd, Han Bennink, Franco D’Andrea, Tim Berne, Chris Speed, Benny Golson, Ernst Reijseger, Willem Breuker, Tristan Honsinger, Wolter Wierbos, Massimo Urbani, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Carlo Actis Dato, Antonello Salis, Maria Pia De Vito, Daniele Cavallanti, Tiziano Tononi, Claudio Roditi, Naco, Richard Galliano, Ellen Christi, Laura Culver, Sean Bergin, Tone Jansa, Roberto Gatto, Herb Robertson, Piero Leveratto, Renato Geremia, Guido Mazzon, Tony Scott, Lauro Rossi, Umberto Petrin, Stjepko Gut, Sandro Satta, Roberto Ottaviano, Yves Robert, Paolo Damiani, David Shea.

Nel dicembre del 1996 ha partecipato alla realizzazione dello spettacolo “Ragazzi Selvaggi”, balletto su musiche di E. Rava e coreografie di R. North, tenutosi nei teatri di Rovigo e Treviso in prima mondiale con la partecipazione di Tony Scott e dell’Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro Sociale di Rovigo.

E’ stato votato come uno dei dieci migliori nuovi talenti dell’anno 1996 dai critici della rivista “Musica Jazz”. Nell’ambito dello stesso referendum, per l’anno 2001 il suo CD “Mosaic Orchestra vol. 1” è stato votato come uno dei dieci migliori dischi di Jazz italiano e il suo gruppo, la Mosaic Orchestra, si è classificato al quinto posto tra i migliori gruppi italiani.

Nel giugno 2003 ha partecipato con il suo gruppo MOSAIC ORCHESTRA, nell’ambito della trasmissione radiofonica Radio Tre Suite, ad un concerto in diretta della durata di novanta minuti.

Ha scritto le musiche per lo spettacolo teatrale “Lo Sciamano Mite”, di Ferruccio Merisi, dedicato al pittore Zoran Music e rappresentato nell’ottobre 2003 in occasione dell’apertura della mostra antologica dedicata al pittore goriziano presso i Musei Provinciali di Gorizia.

Il suo arrangiamento del brano “Il Burattino”, per Big Band Jazz, è stato uno dei 6 finalisti del 16° Concorso di Arrangiamento e Composizione per Orchestra Jazz” di Barga (LU).

Il giorno 29 aprile 2004 ha diretto l’Orchestra PHOPHONIX presentando (nella giornata di apertura del festival MITTELFEST di Cividale) in anteprima mondiale la sua composizione “Scrivere a matita”, dedicata al compositore Piero Pezzè.

Nel 2004 ha registrato con il trio “TRIOSONIC”, formato, oltre che da egli stesso, da Stefano Battaglia al pianoforte e da Michele Rabbia alle percussioni, un C.D. che è uscito nell’anno 2005 per la prestigiosa etichetta discografica tedesca ECM.

Oltre all’E.C.M., ha pubblicato incisioni discografiche per numerose importanti etichette, tra le quali vanno ricordate: ENJA (Germania), Fonit Cetra (Italia), Soul Note (Italia), Black Saint (Italia), Venus (Giappone), CAM Jazz (Italia), Label Bleu (Francia), BMG Ricordi (Italia), Symphonia (Italia), Wide Sound (Italia), Splasch (Italia),

Nell’anno 2007, nell’ambito del referendum TOP JAZZ indetto dalla rivista Musica Jazz, è stato votato al secondo posto nella categoria comprendente contrabassisti, batteristi e cantanti.

Dal 2006 insegna Contrabbasso e Musica d’Insieme ai “Seminari Senesi di Musica Jazz”. Ha preso parte inoltre, come insegnante di contrabbasso, basso elettrico e musica d’insieme, a diversi workshop e seminari, in Italia e all’estero.

Dal 2009 è docente di Jazz presso il Conservatorio “G. Tartini” di Trieste.Born on august 26, 1965, he graduated at the Conservatory “G. Tartini” of Trieste in 1988. In 1991 he attended the summer courses at Siena Jazz and in 1993 he took part in a workshop with Roscoe Mitchell and Muhal Richards Abrams. In 1995 he took part in realization of the sound track (music by T. Tononi) of the film “Ketchup”, which was awarded the first prize at “Festival of Venice”, in the section concerning short films. On September 1996 he took part in a “Conduction” by Butch Morris at Podewil Theatre of Berlin. He also cooperated with the orchestra of Theatre “G. Verdi” of Trieste and Lyric Workshop of Alessandria (the first performance in Italy of a work of the german composer S. Matthus); he was also selected for the international Orchestra of Alpe Adria. On dicember 1996 he collaborated at the realization of the show “Ragazzi Selvaggi”, ballet on music by E. Rava, coreographer R. North, which was fist performed in Italy in the theatres of Rovigo and Treviso, with the participation of Tony Scott and of the Symphony Orchestra of “Teatro Sociale of Rovigo”. He played with world-wide renown musicians: Enrico Rava, Gianluigi Trovesi, Cecil Taylor, Han Bennink, Franco D’Andrea, Tim Berne, Ernst Reijseger, Willem Breuker, Tristan Honsinger, Wolter Wierbos, Massimo Urbani, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Carlo Actis Dato, Antonello Salis, Maria Pia De Vito, Daniele Cavallanti, Tiziano Tononi, Claudio Roditi, Naco, Richard Galliano, Ellen Christi, Laura Culver, Sean Bergin, Tone Jansa, Roberto Gatto, Herb Robertson, Piero Leveratto, Renato Geremia, Guido Mazzon, Tony Scott, Lauro Rossi, Umberto Petrin, Stjepko Gut, Sandro Satta, Roberto Ottaviano, Yves Robert, Paolo Damiani, David Shea, Michele Rabbia. He has played in many festivals and reviews in all Europe (Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Finland, Spain, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Greece, Czech Republic) in Africa (Tunisia) and Canada/U.S.A. He is permanent member of the following groups: Rava Electric Five (E.Rava, R.Cecchetto, D.Caliri, U.T.Ghandi), Nexus, Jazz Cromatic Ensemble, Quatuor (G.Trovesi, M.De Mattia, G.Pacorig, E.M.Ghirardini), Claudio Lodati Trio, Claudio Lodati “Vocal Desires” (C.Lodati, E.Christi, A.Rolle, U.T.Ghandi), Daniele Cavallanti Quartet, Saverio Tasca Trio, Lauro Rossi Quartet, Umberto Petrin Trio, Ettore Fioravanti “Belcanto”, Open Sound Ensemble. He also plays occasionally with the “Italian Instabile Orchestra”. At the present he is also working at a project for solo contrabass. On 1996 he was elected one of the best ten talents for year 1996, by critics of the magazine “Musica Jazz”.

Sassofonista e compositore attivo nel campo del jazz e della sperimentazione da oltre 25 anni, con una serie di progetti originali con organici disparati. Interessato da sempre alla contaminazione fra le arti ha partecipato a numerose attività interdisciplinari, con particolare attenzione al rapporto musica-testo e musica-immagine. Numi tutelari paiono essere nomi del jazz come Steve Lacy e Roscoe Mitchell, della musica contemporanea come J.Cage e Robert Ashley, dell’arte J.Pollock e Toti Scialoja.
“Ricerca” sembra la parola chiave che accompagna il suo lavoro, che spesso privilegia collaborazioni con elementi di distante collocazione. La cura del timbro musicale e delle tecniche avanzate del sax soprano al quale si è monacalmente dedicato negli ultimi anni è divenuta essa stessa la cifra di riferimento del suo stile. Negli ultimi anni ha fondato Stanze laboratorio di musica e parole poi divenuto Al3ali gruppo con organico dal timbro contemporaneo(voce soprano, contrabbasso, sax soprano, voce recitante, live electronics) dall’ampio catalogo.
Si dedica sempre più spesso alla solo performance nella quale ama investigare il rapporto dello strumento monodico con il silenzio.
Nel 2000 apre una feconda collaborazione con Chandra Livia Candiani ( premio Montale ) che porta alla performance “Lettere mai scritte”, nella quale poesia e musica trovano un modo veramente stimolante di specchiarsi. Collabora con la scrittrice e traduttrice Anna Ruchat per il suo lavoro su testo di Victor Klemperer “Una fossa nell’aria” che diviene poi una lettura musicata presentata in Italia e Svizzera. Recente la collaborazione con Lorenzo Dal Ri (campionamenti, sound treatments) con il quale fonda Bespoken nel quale relazione fra strumento acustico ed elettronica porta a stimolanti sound-tales, colonne sonore (ultima delle quali è “Luce bagna i binari” per un video di Alessandro Nassiri Tabibzadeh, edito da Icona Contemporanea), ambientazioni per mostre d’arte ed eventi (Biennale architettura Venezia 2002, conferenza sulla”Reverie”, Modena) .
Proprio verso l’interazione con l’immagine sembrano orientarsi anche due più recenti progetti :
“OBLIQUIVIALI” un volume frutto di intensa collaborazione, edito da CLU nel 2003. Nell’estate dello stesso anno diviene una istallazione interattiva, una sonorizzazione visuale adatta ad ambienti pubblici e privati di vario genere: stazioni ferroviarie, metropolitana , bus, cortili, ospedali, sale d’aspetto in genere, gallerie d’arte etc.. con musiche di Bespoken, la voce recitante di Aldo Cassano, l’elaborazione visuale di Acmevideo, nel quale i suoi racconti originali e le fotografie- immagini di Elda Papa si cercano per vie traverse, per Obliqui viali, appunto. Tight Corners nato per studiare connessioni creative tra musica e la fotografia di Stefano Galvani (performance di proiezione e musica live).
Nel 2004 la collaborazione con il trombonista Angelo Contini, un duo stimolante nel quale l’improvvisazione e la partitura si integrano agilmente e nel quale la frammentazione e la formazione del suono vengono investigate con curiosa sincerità, frutta una registrazione molto intensa e diverse performance live : two’s days/tuesdays. Una formula nuda, giocata sul filo di una espressività molto varia e senza supporti armonico ritmici, un dialogo serrato e raffinato, aperto a spazi improvvisati e strutturati grazie ad un sincero interplay.
Dello stesso anno, il primo volume di Etica fonetica: “la lettera S”, un lavoro commissionato da ITA2 istituto per l’insegnamento della lingua italiana agli stranieri, indaga musicalmente cellule fonetiche della lingua curandone testi e musica in duo con la soprano lirica Susie Georgiadis.
Nel 2005 approfondisce la relazione con il sound treatments, recentissima la registrazione ambientale di un live concept sulla tragica epopea del sottomarino russo Kursk in collaborazione con Angelo Contini, Lorenzo dal Ri e Xabier Iriondo, che diverrà un dvd con le immagini curate da Acmevideo. Torna in studio per un lavoro in solo dal titolo One way ticket di prossima pubblicazione, nel quale troviamo una summa della sua ricerca sul sax soprano con musiche originali e di Monk, Mingus, Webern, R.Mitchell,F.Cumar, D.Ellington. Nell’estate dello stesso anno riprende il duo con Chandra Livia Candiani per un recital su testi della poetessa tratti dal libro “io con vestito leggero” edito nello stesso anno da Campanotto. Il lavoro approfondisce la comunicazione iniziata con “lettere mai scritte”, sviluppando il rapporto suono-parola in un’intensa performance che ha già al suo attivo vari live sia in rassegne che in “house concert”. Anche il progetto Bespoken riprende la sua attività allargando il proprio organico a Xabier Iriondo al sound treatment, crackle box, table giuitars per un nuovo progetto di interazione tra acustica ed elettronica.A saxophonist and composer in the fields of jazz and experimentation for over 25 years, he has produced a series of original projects with highly disparate groups. His interest in the contamination between the arts has lead him to participate in numerous interdisciplinary activities, in particular those which examine the relationship between music-text and music-image.
Presiding influences include jazz names like Steve Lacy and Roscoe Mitchell, contemporary musicians like J.Cage and Robert Ashley, and artists such as J.Pollock and Toti Scialoja.
“Quest” is the key word that accompanies his work, which often gives priority to the collaboration of very different elements. The treatment of musical timbre and of advanced technique on the soprano sax, to which he has monastically dedicated himself in recent years, have become the distinguishing features of his style. In the last few years he founded Stanze a music and word laboratory which has since become the contemporary group Al3ali (soprano voice, double bass, soprano sax, reading voice, live electronics).
He is dedicating himself more and more to solo performance and to the investigation into the relationship between the monodic instrument and silence.
In 2000 he began a rich collaboration with Chandra Livia Candiani ( Montale prize) that lead to the performance “Lettere mai scritte”, in which poetry and music find a truly stimulating way of looking at each other. He collaborated with the writer and translator Anna Ruchat for his work on the text of Victor Klemperer “Una fossa nell’aria” that later became a musical reading, presented in both Italy and Switzerland.

In 2002 his collaboration with Lorenzo Dal Ri (sampling, sound treatments) with whom he founded Bespoken, a collaboration that examines the relationship between acoustic and electronic instruments, lead to stimulating sound-tales, sound tracks (the latest is “Luce bagna i binari” for a video by Alessandro Nassiri Tabibzadeh, published by Icona Contemporanea), and mood settings for art exhibitions and events (Venice Architecture Biennnial 2002, a conference on”Reverie”, Modena)

Two recent projects are also oriented towards the interaction of music and image:
“OBLIQUI VIALI” a volume which was the result of an intense collaboration, was published by CLU in 2003. In the summer of the same year it became an interactive installation, a visual sound track suitable for public and private places of many types: railway stations, undergrounds, buses, courtyards, hospitals, waiting rooms, art galleries, etc… with music by Bespoken, the reading voice of Aldo Cassano, and the visual elaboration of Acmevideo, whose original stories together with the photographs-images of Elda Papa search for each other in the By Ways, or “Obliqui viali”.

Tight Corners came about to study the creative connections between the music and photography of Stefano Galvani (live music and projection performance).
In 2004 a collaboration with the trombonist Angelo Contini, a stimulating duo in which improvisation and the score are nimbly integrated and the fragmentation and formation of sound are examined with sincere curiosity, produced a very intense recording and several live performances: two’s days/tuesdays. A naked form, based on a very varied expressiveness without rhythmic harmonic support, a tight knit and refined dialogue, open to improvisations that take their form from an open and sincere interaction.
In the same year, ITA2, a school for foreign learner’s of Italian, commissioned the first volume of a work entitled Etica fonetica: “la lettera S”, which, in collaboration with the lyric soprano Susie Georgiadis, examines phonetic cells of the language musically.
In 2005 he deepened his relationship with sound treatments, this resulted in the very recent environmental recording of a live concept about the tragic epic of the Russian submarine Kursk in collaboration with Angelo Contini, Lorenzo dal Ri and Xabier Iriondo. It is due to become a DVD with images by Acmevideo.
The new record label amirani records’ first release is his One way ticket, a compendium of his quest on the soprano sax, it contains both original music as well as music by Monk, Mingus, Webern, R.Mitchell, F.Cumar, and D.Ellington.
In the summer of the same year he took up the duo with Chandra Livia Candiani again, for a recital of the poetess’ texts from the book “io con vestito leggero” published in the same year by Campanotto. The work looks more deeply into the communication begun with “lettere mai scritte”, and develops the relationship between sound-word in an intense performance that has already been presented both in exhibitions and “house concerts”.
The project Bespoken also started its activity again. It was joined by Xabier Iriondo and added the crackle box and table guitars to the sound treatment for a new acoustic and electronic interaction project.

Elliott Sharp è considerato il Jimi Hendrix delle musiche eterodosse: instancabile ricercatore nel campo della creazione di nuove chitarre, solista (anche al sassofono) dallo stile duro e avanzato, i suoi lavori si distinguono per essere dei blocchi sonori peculiari e complessi, ancorché influenzati anche dal rock e dal blues.
Le sue musiche sono eseguite con regolarità dai maggiori ensemble in questo settore, tra i quali l’Ensemble Modern e la non meno prestigiosa orchestra dell’ORF di Vienna, tanto che di recente la critica più accreditata ha iniziato a stimarlo anche come autore e non solo come performer.
Collaboratore di artisti quali John Zorn, Wayne Horwitz, Bobby Previte, leader di progetti come Terraplane, Carbon, Tektonics, Sharp rivolge al blues uno sguardo nuovo, che non è revival, ma riesce ad essere un episodio freschissimo di vero legame con la tradizione.Born in 1951, in Cleveland, OH; son of an engineer. Education: Earned degrees from Bard College and from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Addresses: Record company–Gaff Music, 719 E. Park Dr., Lincolnton, NC 28092-3219. Website–Elliott Sharp Official Website: http://www.elliottsharp.com.

Critics have hailed Elliott Sharp as one of American music’s lesser-known geniuses. A guitarist and composer who works both within and at the fringes of New York City’s avant-jazz and experimental rock music scenes, Sharp has been putting out solo records and forming new and innovative ensembles since 1977. He is highly regarded among music writers as well as among his peers for the range of his styles and technical brilliance, but he remains largely unknown to the public outside of a small coterie of experimental music fans. In one of the few articles about his work published in the mainstream press, New York Times writer Adam Shatz wrote that Sharp’s compositions “tend to be brutally dissonant and repetitive, driven by an exacting logic that gives them an undeniable power, though it doesn’t make for easy listening.”

Sharp was born in 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in White Plains, New York. His mother was a Holocaust survivor of World War II. His father, an engineer by profession, was also a talented painter and woodcarver. Not surprisingly, Sharp emerged as a smart child whose parents had high hopes for him. “I played classical piano when I was a child, Liszt and Chopin, but I didn’t really care for the practice regime,” he recalled in an interview with England’s Birmingham Post journalist Martin Longley. “My parents were really pushing that. I was also trying to be a junior scientist at the age of seven. I hated the piano after that. I switched to the clarinet. I think it was encouraged that I do it partially as therapy for my asthma.”

But then Sharp discovered rock and roll in high school, and found his muse when he heard the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, and other groundbreakers of the mid-1960s. He acquired what would become the first of an impressive array of guitars in 1968, and built his own fuzz boxes and pedals. Still a top student, he won a National Science Foundation grant for creating an experiment showing that microwaves caused genetic mutations in fruit flies, but turned down the grant in order to become a music major at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He remained intensely involved in popular music, working as a DJ and discovering dozens of new styles, from the blues to psychedelic rock to world music.

Settled in New York City

Sharp undertook graduate studies in music at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he often found himself in conflict with his more tradition-minded professors, and also became drawn into the student protest movement of the era. His first record, Hara, was an experimental-jazz effort released on the Zoar label in 1977. Two years later he released a follow-up album, Resonance, and then moved to New York City. In one of those occasional Manhattan real estate legends, Sharp purchased a small walk-up apartment in what was then a desolate, drug-ridden neighborhood—New York City’s East Seventh Street—for the sum of just $250.

Sharp continued to put out solo records that garnered a following among New York’s young downtown experimental music crowd, but he also played in a bar band that performed Motown covers; one of his bandmates was future Village Voice columnist Michael Musto. He also worked as a janitor at the Barbizon Hotel. The early 1980s were a ripe time for New York’s downtown music scene, and Sharp came to know composer John Zorn, guitarists Glenn Branca and Marc Ribot, and John Lurie, the saxophonist and actor. Still interested in political causes, he founded Orchestra Carbon in 1983. In physics, all matter can be reduced to carbon, and Sharp borrowed this idea for his band’s name, which linked to his interest in nuclear-disarmament politics. The band’s debut album, Carbon, was released on the Atonal label in 1984. “Carbon has always been my most personal project,” Sharp told Guitar Player journalist Joe Gore. “It’s where I work out concepts in a `rock band’ format.”

In the early 1990s Sharp explored his interest in the blues through several projects. Terraplane was both the name of an ensemble and an acclaimed 1994 release of modern electric blues. Jas Obrecht, writing in Guitar Player, praised “Sharp’s roots-true blues,” describing them as “devoid of posturing and cliches.” He added that Sharp “plays the blues as if he’s spent the past 75 years in Mississippi.” The record also featured the work of an American blues guitar legend, Hubert Sumlin, who had worked with Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. Sharp had met Sumlin thanks to an Austin, Texas, blues singer named Queen Esther. She sang on Sharp’s 1996 Hoosegow project titled Mighty. Several tracks that the two co-wrote featured Sharp’s guitar, her voice, and no other instruments.

Moved Forward with the Times

In the mid-1990s Sharp ventured into drum-n-bass-style electronica with a host of other musicians, working under the name Tectonics. The result was a pair of 1995 releases, Field and Stream and Errata. The following year Sharp released an album of string quartet compositions titled Sferics, and won commissions for new works from the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra and other leading groups. Some of his works subsequently premiered at Carnegie Hall, one of New York’s most prestigious concert venues. “I sat in the audience and bit my nails while they read my score,” he confessed to Obrecht. “I write rhythmically complex music, and there was no room for interpretation or improvisation in this piece. For me to sit in the audience and listen to someone play the music is a lot more harrowing than being onstage making the mistakes myself.”

Sharp has produced a studio album nearly every year since 1977, and was extremely prolific during the 1990s, producing several releases each year. In 2000 he issued another Terraplane LP, Blues For Next, for Knitting Factory Records. The double-disc set featured Sumlin’s guitar on the disc called “Plus,” and solely instrumental works on its “Quartet” counterpart. Down Beat’s Jon Andrews liked the instrumental track “Rails” from the latter, and praised the way the song “departs from familiar blues-rock origins for a stunning excursion into electronica. Over [Sim] Cain’s electronic percussion, Sharp erupts with a raving, furious solo, evoking the sound of metal shearing.”

Another project of Sharp’s was Guitar Oblique, which teamed him with fellow guitarists David Torn and Vernon Reid. They recorded one live session at New York’s Knitting Factory, released as GTR OBLQ. Billboard writer Steve Graybow reviewed the finished product and found it “a fascinating look into an exceptionally rich musical dialogue. The perceptive observer can detect a conversational ebb and flow in the music, as the three guitarists spontaneously react to one another and to the sound samples that weave in and out of their collective tapestry.”

World Citizen, Devoted New Yorker

Still ardently interested in political causes, Sharpe, who was raised in the Jewish faith, is a supporter of the Palestinian self-rule movement and has worked to promote Arab-Jewish peace initiatives in the Middle East. In the summer of 2002 he was invited to take part in a New York concert that was part of the Lincoln Center Festival 2002, which featured many musical groups and stars from the North African and Middle Eastern worlds. At the event he performed onstage with the 13-member Al Mashreq All-Stars.

Sharp still lives in the New York City apartment he bought in 1979, but also has a studio next door. It is filled with musical instruments of his own design, most of them variations on guitars, which he furnishes with unusual names such as pantar and violinoid. He has remained relatively unknown outside of music circles even after a quarter-century, and admitted to Shatz that the heyday for experimental music in the 1980s had largely passed him by. “I’ve been really underground for the last 10 years,” he told the newspaper. “Sure, I’m disappointed sometimes,” he continued. “Without that corporate endorsement you’re not seen as an artist in America. At the same time, I’ve been really lucky. I do have great opportunities. I’ve been able to work with some of my heroes. I live comfortably, and I don’t expect to live in a mansion.” Sharp says he has joked with friends that he might someday like to leave the country and establish a base in Europe or elsewhere, but thinks he might be too rooted in New York City. “The problem is,” he told Shatz about living elsewhere, “there’s no place you can get good Korean food at 2 in the morning.”
by Carol Brennan

Compositore, chitarrista, Craig Green ha trascorso gli ultimi 20 anni a fare lunghi viaggi negli Stati Uniti, Messico, Canada, Europa, Asia e Nord Africa, sia come leader, musicista di backup, e studente del suono. Ha studiato e condiviso il palco con un cast mondiale come il franco-algerino chitarrista Pierre Bensusan, il violinista Eyvind Kang, la jazz vocalist Jacqui Naylor, il cantautore Michael White, il batterista brasiliano Emiliano Benivides, il suonatore di tabla dell’India settentrionale Sadip Berman, il multi percussionista George Grant, il compositore elettronico Michael Jones, l’artista visivo e musicista Nelson Soucek. E Ancora Pat Martino, Shukla Krishna, Louis Aguirre, Reina Rafeal, Jeff Kaiser, Ray Charles e Violent Femmes. Green ha segnato musica per teatro, cinema, balletto e gruppi cameristici. Con la collaborazione e l’improvvisazione al centro, Craig continua a lavorare con artisti visivi, danzatori e musicisti provenienti da tutto il mondo.Composer, guitarist Craig Green spent the last 20 years doing extensive travels throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia and North Africa as both a leader, backup musician and student of sound. He has studied and shared the stage with a global cast including French/Algerian guitarist Pierre Bensusan, violinist Eyvind Kang, Jazz vocalist Jacqui Naylor, singer/songwriter Michael White, Brazilian drummer Emilano Benivides, North Indian tabla player Sadip Berman, multi percussionist George Grant, electronic composer Michael Jones, visual artist/musician Nelson Soucek. Jazz musician Pat Martino, North Indian vocalist Krishna Shukla, Cuban composer Louis Aguirre, Spanish composer Rafeal Reina, 1/4 tone trumpet player Jeff Kaiser, Ray Charles and the Violent Femmes. Green has scored music for stage, film, ballet and chamber ensembles. With collaboration and improvisation as the focus, He continues to work with visual artists, dancers and other musicians from around the world.

Sono nato a Milano, Italia, nel giugno del 1952; ho fatto il mio primo concerto all’età di 18 anni, quindi a conti fatti sono circa 36 anni che faccio il mestiere del musicista jazz. Suono il sax tenore, soprattutto, e il baritono, e durante la mia carriera ho avuto il piacere e il privilegio di suonare, lavorare e registrare con un enorme numero di grandi musicisti / amici come Tiziano Tononi, in primo luogo, con il quale ho condiviso una comune carriera musicale a partire dal 1979, e inoltre: tutti i ragazzi in italiano Instabile Orchestra, Mark Dresser, Herb Robertson, Dewey Redman, Roswell Rudd, Cecil Taylor, Glenn Ferris, Nels Cline, Raphael Garrett, Jean Jacques Avenel, Oliver Johnson , Willem Breuker, Wolter Wierbos, Evan Parker, Paul Lytton, Elliott Sharp, Jerry Granelli, Keith Tippett e molti, molti altri.I was born in Milano, Italy on June 1952, played my first gig at age 18, so that makes it some 36 years since I’m a working jazz musician. I play tenor saxophone, mainly, and baritone, and during my career I’ve had the pleasure and privilege to play, work and record with a huge number of great musicians/friends such as Tiziano Tononi, in the first place,with whom I share a mutual musical career starting from 1979, and: all the guys in the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Mark Dresser, Herb Robertson, Dewey Redman, Roswell Rudd, Cecil Taylor, Glenn Ferris, Nels Cline, Raphael Garrett, Jean Jacques Avenel, Oliver Johnson, Willem Breuker, Wolter Wierbos, Evan Parker, Paul Lytton, Elliott Sharp, Jerry Granelli, Keith Tippett and many, many others.