Paolo Fresu

Paolo Fresu started studying his instrument at the age of 11 in the "Bernardo de Muro" music band of Berchidda, where he was born.

After experiences light music he discovered jazz in 1980 and started his professional activity in 1982 following first the and then recording for the RAI, the Italian public broadcasting corporation, (Radio 3 'Un certo discorso) under the direction of Bruno Tommaso.

In 1984 he graduated in Trumpet at the Cagliari Conservatory under Enzo Morandini and attended the music department of DAMS, the faculty of arts of the University of Bologna. Still in 1984 he won several prizes as best talent in Italian Jazz.

In 1990 he won the prize as best Italian musician, best group (the Paolo Fresu Quintet) and best record (Live in Montpellier). In 1996, in Paris he won the prestigious prizes "Bobby Jaspar" awarded by the "Académie du jazz and the "Django d'Or" (the European music Oscar) as best European jazz musician and in the year 2000 he had another nomination for the "Django d'Or" as best international musician.

He has been a music teacher in State Middle schools and, for the past twenty years he has led and intense teaching activity in many contexts.

The list of collaborations is prestigious: ranging from the leading Italian musicians like F. D'Andrea, GL. Trovesi, G. Gaslini, E. Rava, B. Tommaso, G. Tommaso, E. Pieranunzi, T. Ghiglioni and others, to Europeans and Americans like K. Wheeler, J. Taylor, D. Liebman, D. Holland, Ph. Woods, A. Romano, G. Mulligan, B. Brookmayer, J. Zorn, R. Del Frà, J. Abercrombie, H. Merril, M. Portal, R. Galliano, T. Gurtu, G. Shuller, M. Waldrom, del Fra, J. Hall, L. Soloff, J. Hassell, Uri Caine, Gil Evans Orchestra etc.

He has recorded over 220 LPs and CDs, of which over thirty under his own name and others in international collaborations. He has performed various artistic intrusions (in painting, sculpture, installations, video, etc).

He divides his time between Paris, the Apennines which bridge Tuscany and Emilia, Bologna and Sardinia and is President of the "TIME IN JAZZ" Cultural Association of Berchidda, which organizes the Jazz Festival by the same name, as well as other cultural events.

Paolo Fresu: Kind of Miles

by Giuseppe Segala
October 28, 2024

Paolo Fresu: Kind of Miles Teatro Comunale Bolzano 24-27 ottore 2024 La storia del jazz si alimenta di grandi passioni, di scoperte e di profonda stima. Tutti i musicisti hanno avuto una folgorazione, o meglio una serie continua di folgorazioni. Ci limitiamo a citare come esempio quella di Duke Ellington per Sidney Bechet, riportata nella sua celebre autobiografia: “Impossibile dimenticare la prima volta che lo sentii suonare allo Howard Theatre di Washington, attorno al ...

Album Review

Paolo Fresu, Dino Rubino, Daniele di Bonaventura, Marco Bardoscia: Ferlinghetti

Read "Ferlinghetti" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
October 9, 2024

Le musiche di questo disco, per metà a firma di Paolo Fresu e per il resto scritte dai vari membri del quartetto che le interpreta, nascono come colonna sono per il film The Beat Bomb (anche se nel libretto viene riportato il titolo The Last Beat), di Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani, che documenta la vita del poeta, pittore, attivista ed editore statunitense Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), considerato uno dei maggiori esponenti della Beat Generation e particolarmente noto per la libreria e ...

Radio & Podcasts

Paolo Fresu, Qwalia, Mark Guiliana, Yelena Eckemoff & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
August 6, 2024

This time around our special focus is Paolo Fresu who is celebrating 40 years of activity with his historic Quartet, 20 years with his electric Devil Quartet, and 22 years with pianist Uri Caine. To mark these three anniversaries he has released a gorgeous triple album entitled Legacy (and the limited edition companion triple LP (next) Legacy). This episode also features the latest albums by Yelena Eckemoff featuring Paolo Fresu, Moppa Elliott celebrating bassist Sam Jones, Mark Guiliana playing all ...

In Pictures

Paolo Fresu & Uri Caine at Val Nure Festival 2024

by Danilo Codazzi
June 29, 2024

A collection of photos from the Paolo Fresu & Uri Caine concert at Val Nure Festival in Ponte dell'Olio on June 22, 2024 featuring Paolo Fresu and Uri Caine. ...

Album Review

Yelena Eckemoff: Romance of the Moon

Read "Romance of the Moon" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
June 14, 2024

Comparable to the rare and valuable likes of a first edition book worth treasuring, Yelena Eckemoff's Romance of the Moon is no small achievement. The keyboardist/composer creates music as vivid as the images in her own paintings that adorn the inside and out of the CD package, all of which graphics (as well as those in the enclosed booklet) appear in a glossy finish. And that corresponds to the polish of the production of a baker's dozen compositions ...

In Pictures

Paolo Fresu Devil Quartet Impromptus at the 2024 Cremona Jazz Festival

by Danilo Codazzi
May 21, 2024

A collection of photos from the Paolo Fresu Devil Quartet concert at Cremona Jazz Festival in Cremona on May 12, 2024 featuring Paolo Fresu, Paolino Dalla Porta, Bebo Ferra, and Stefano Bagnoli. ...

In Pictures

Il Volo del Jazz 2022

by Luca A. d'Agostino
January 7, 2023

A collection of photos from the Il Volo del Jazz in Sacile from October 29, 2022 to December 3, 2022 featuring Paolo Fresu, Randy Brecker, Christian Sands Some Funk Punk, Richard Bona, Alfredo Rodriguez, Vincent Peirani and Kokoroko. ...

Festival

New Concerts Added To The Program Of The 36th Edition Of The Festival

Source: Ann Braithwaite
March 1, 2015

Montreal, Wednesday, February 25, 2015 — We’re adding even more names to the incredible program of the 36th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, presented by TD in collaboration with Rio Tinto Alcan, from June 26 to July 5, 2015. Tickets for these concerts go on sale today at noon. A Filetta with Paolo Fresu and Daniele Di Bonaventura, Mistico Mediterraneo. Opening act: Paolo Fresu – Gianluca Petrella duo — June 26, 7 p.m., Maison symphonique — ...
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Recording

New Release from Paolo Fresu and a Filetta

Source: ECM Records
March 17, 2011

On February 22nd ECM released Mistico Mediterraneo, a mesmerizing collaboration between lyrical Italian jazz improvisers Paolo Fresu and Daniele di Bonaventura and the Corsican vocal ensemble A Filetta.

Paolo Fresu Mistico Mediterraneo Paolo Fresu trumpet, flugelhorn Daniele di Bonaventura bandoneon A Filetta: Jean-Claude Acquaviva: seconda Paul Giansily: terza Jean-Luc Geronimi: seconda José Filippi: bassu Jean Sicurani: bassu Maxime ...
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Recording

Time for an ECM Two-Fer: Paul Motion Trio and Ralph Towner/Paolo Fresu (2010)

Source: Something Else!
April 26, 2010

By PicoLast month ECM put on sale new offerings by two of their oldest stalwarts: drummer Paul Motian and Ralph Towner. Motian has been discussed on this site probably more than any other drummer, no doubt due to his long association with Bill Evans and his more recent contributions as both a leader and sideman. He began his association with this fabled label early on, in 1972, an association that continues today that was only interrupted from the ...
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Music Industry