Vincenzo "Enzo" Avitabile (; born 1 March 1955) is an Italian saxophonist, composer and singer-songwriter. He plays a fusion of

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

music, rooted in Neapolitan traditions and

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

Career

Born in Naples, Italy, Avitabile started as a self-taught saxophonist at ten years old. He graduated in flute at the

Naples Conservatory This is a list of music conservatories in Naples, Italy. Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella The Naples Conservatory of Music is a music school located in Naples, Italy. It is situated in the complex of San Pietro a Majella. It was originally ...

. He started his career as a turnist, and made his record debut in 1982 with ''Avitabile'', an album which saw the collaboration of

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

. Ernesto Assante. "Avitabile, Enzo". Gino Castaldo (edited by). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp.69–70. He tours with his band, going under the name of Enzo Avitabile & Bottari. ''Bottari'' is a traditional rhythm from southern Italy involving percussion elements such as wine barrels, wooden drums and the like. Avitabile keeps the Bottari culture in mind while experimenting with fusion jazz (sax, trumpets, etc.). He has collaborated with Pino Daniele,

Edoardo Bennato Edoardo Bennato (born 23 July 1946) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is the brother of the singer-songwriter Eugenio Bennato. He is considered one of the greatest artists in Italian rock, a genre that he has often combined with Blues rock, ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is a retired American DJ, rapper, and record producer. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of ...

and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

Trilok Gurtu Trilok Gurtu (born 30 October 1951) is an Indian percussionist and composer whose work has blended the music of India with jazz fusion and world music. He has worked with Terje Rypdal, Gary Moore, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Joe Zawinu ...

, Daby Touré, and Ashraf Sharif Khan (son of Sharif Khan Poonchwaley), among others. With his Bottari lineup, he was nominated for the prestigious 'Audience Award' in the 2005

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Awards for World Music. In 2012 he was the subject of

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...

's docu-movie ''Enzo Avitabile Music Life''. Enzo Avitabile - Mario Trevi

In the same year, he recorded "Black tarantella", an award-winning record with new songs that included duets and collaborations with outstanding international musicians from Europe, America and Africa like, among others,

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

and

Franco Battiato Francesco "Franco" Battiato (; 23 March 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Italian musician, singer, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs explore many themes (including, but not limited to, ph ...

. In 2017 he won 2 Donatello's David Awards for best song and best soundtrack of the movie ''"Gli indivisibili".''

Discography

*' (1982) *' (1983) *' (1984) *' (1986) *' (1988) *' (1990) *' (1991) *' (1994) *' (1996) *' (1999) *''Salvamm'o munno'' (2004) *''Sacro Sud'' (2006) *''Festa, farina e forca'' (2007) *''Napoletana'' (2009) *' (2012) *' (2016) *' (2018)

References

External links

*
Enzo Avitabile
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

1955 births Living people Musicians from Naples Italian male saxophonists Italian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Italian singer-songwriters 21st-century Italian singer-songwriters Italian jazz saxophonists 20th-century Italian male singers 21st-century Italian saxophonists 21st-century Italian male singers Italian male jazz musicians {{jazz-saxophonist-stub