Amedeo Tommasi (1 December 1935 – 13 April 2021) was an Italian pianist and composer. He specialized in the composition of music for films.

Biography

Tommasi started his career as a trombonist for a jazz band in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. He gained notoriety in Italy for his performances on the radio show ''La coppa di jazz'' in 1960. The following year, he performed in the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

and received the First Prize at the Festival Bled in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. In the years following, he made recordings with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Bobby Jaspar Bobby Jaspar (20 February 1926 – 28 February 1963) was a Belgian cool jazz and hard bop saxophonist, flautist and composer. Early life Born in Liège, Belgium, Jaspar learned to play piano and clarinet at a young age. Later, he took up the ...

, René Thomas,

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in ...

Conte Candoli Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orc ...

, and

Jacques Pelzer Jacques Pelzer (24 June 1924 – 6 August 1994) was a Belgium, Belgian musician. He played alto saxophone and flute. Notably, his performance with Chet Baker was included on Baker's quintet's ''Brussels 1964'' album. He made his debut in 1947 ...

. In the early 1970s, he began composing music for films. In the film ''

The Legend of 1900 ''The Legend of 1900'' (, "The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean") is a 1998 Italian English-language drama film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, and starring Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Mélanie Thierry. It was Tornatore's first Englis ...

'', he composed each of the recordings and also had a cameo appearance as a pianist. He also appeared in the 2010 documentary ''Pupi Avati, ieri oggi domani'', directed by Claudio Costa. Amedeo Tommasi died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 13 April 2021 at the age of 85.

Filmography

*''

Long Days of Hate ''Long Days of Hate'' (, also known as ''This Man Can't Die'') is a 1968 Italian Spaghetti Western film co-written and directed by Gianfranco Baldanello. Plot summary Martin Benson is a Civil War veteran and former outlaw earning money and cl ...

'' (1968) *' (1970) *'' Balsamus, l'uomo di Satana'' (1970) *'' La mazurka del barone, della santa e del fico fiorone'' (1975) *''Le seminariste'' (1976) *''

The House with Laughing Windows ''The House with Laughing Windows'' () is a 1976 Italian giallo-horror film co-written and directed by Pupi Avati. The film was shot in Lido degli Scacchi in the Ferrara province of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. Plot Stefano (Li ...

'' (1976) *''

House of Pleasure for Women ''House of Pleasure for Women'' () is a 1976 satirical comedy film written and directed by Pupi Avati and starring Gigi Proietti, Christian De Sica, Gianni Cavina, Al Lettieri and Vincent Gardenia. Plot A brothel for women is opened in Milan, I ...

'' (1976) *'' Tutti defunti... tranne i morti'' (1977) *'' Le strelle nel fosso'' (1979) *'' An American Love'' (1994) *'' Sleepless'' (2001)

References

Italian jazz pianists Italian male film score composers 2021 deaths 1935 births People from Trieste {{Italy-musician-stub