Pietro Tonolo (born 30 May 1959) is an Italian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

player and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Biography

He was born in

Mirano Mirano is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, Italy. Toponymy The town's name comes from its ancient Latin name ''Miranum'', derived from ''mira,'' meaning "observatory" or "spectacle". This etymology is shared wit ...

, Italy. Pietro Tonolo gave up a career as a classical violinist to become a jazz sax player. Around that time, he moved to Milan, where he played with some of Italy's best jazz musicians, including Franco D'Andrea, Luigi Bonafede, Larry Nocella, Massimo Urbani, Rita Marcotulli and

Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's ...

. In 1982, Tonolo joined the

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

Orchestra, playing with notable musicians as

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and Ray Anderson. He later went on to perform in jazz clubs and on radio and television around Europe and the United States, both as a sideman and as a leader with his own band. He was a steady member of the

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’s Electric Bebop Band from 1999 to 2004. Other notable collaborators have included the likes of

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, Sal Nistico,

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, Aldo Romano,

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and

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. Besides jazz, Tonolo has been collaborating with contemporary musicians and ensembles ('Ex Novo Ensemble', 'Laboratorio Novamusica', 'Nex Time Ensemble', 'Sentieri Selvaggi', 'Orchestra d'archi Italiana', plus the sax quartet 'Arundo Donax'). He is currently teaching at the Conservatory of Vicenza and Siena Jazz international masterclasses. He lives in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Quartet Quintet Sextet'' (Splasc(h), 1984) * ''Slowly'' (Splasc(h), 1991) * ''Alliance'' (Penta Flowers, 1993) * ''Tresse'' (Splasc(h), 1993) * ''Simbiosi'' (Splasc(h), 1995) * ''Amigdala'' (Velut Luna, 1996) * ''Un Veliero All'Orizzonte'' (Egea, 1997) * ''Disguise'' (Splasc(h), 1997) * ''Monologues'' (Splasc(h), 1998) * ''Sotto La Luna'' with Danilo Rea (Egea, 1999) * ''Portrait of Duke'' (Label Bleu, 2000) * ''Luna Park'' (Egea, 2000) * ''Retro'' (Egea, 2000) * ''Autunno'' with Paolo Birro (Egea, 2001) * ''Glasswater'' (Splasc(h), 2001) * ''Farfalle'' (Egea, 2002) * ''Oltremare'' (Egea, 2004) * ''Italian Songs'' (Egea, 2005) * ''Lennie's Pennies'' (Blue Serge, 2006) * ''Your Songs: The Music of Elton John'' (ObliqSound, 2007) * ''Peace'' (ObliqSound, 2007) * ''Mirando'' (Egea, 2009) * ''The Translators'' (Parco Della Musica, 2009) * ''Jazzitaliano Live 2009'' (Casa Del Jazz, 2010) * ''Corner Brilliance'' with

(Alma, 2012) * ''Dajaloo'' (Parco Della Musica, 2013) * ''Too Many Pockets'' (Parco Della Musica, 2018) * ''Songs We Like'' (Fone Jazz, 2019)

As sideman

* Gap Band, ''Tribute to Nino Rota'' (Nel Jazz/Nelmondo, 1995) * Rita Marcotulli, ''Un' Altra Galassia'' (Fonit Cetra, 1986) * Rita Marcotulli, ''Umbria Jazz All Stars North Carolina'' (Umbria Jazz, 1988) *

, ''Europe'' (Winter & Winter, 2001) *

, ''Holiday for Strings'' (Winter & Winter, 2002) *

Enrico Pieranunzi Enrico Pieranunzi (born 5 December 1949) is an Italian jazz pianist. He combines classical technique with jazz. Biography The son of Renata Brillantini and Alvaro Pieranunzi, Enrico Pieranunzi was encouraged to study music at a young age. Hi ...

, ''In That Dawn of Music'' (Musica/Soul Note, 1993) *

, ''Andanada'' (Soul Note, 1983) * Danilo Rea, ''Jazzitaliano Live 2006'' (Casa Del Jazz, 2006) * Roberto Zanetti, ''Minor Time'' (Dodicilune, 2014)

References

External links

Pietro Tonolo
Official Site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonolo, Pietro 1959 births Living people Italian jazz composers Italian jazz saxophonists 21st-century Italian saxophonists Label Bleu artists People from Mirano Musicians from the Metropolitan City of Venice