Riccardo Del Fra (born February 20, 1956, Rome) 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 ...

double-bassist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. Del Fra first played guitar, then switched to upright bass when he was sixteen years old. He studied at a conservatory, played in the RAI Orchestra, and did work as a

studio musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

for film scores in the 1970s.Andre Clergeat, "Riccardo Del Fra". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

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. Concomitantly, he began playing as a sideman in jazz venues in Rome for touring musicians, such as

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

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, and

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of " More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

. He joined

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 ...

's ensemble in the late 1970s and played 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 ...

; Del Fra and Baker played together frequently thereafter until Baker's death. Del Fra eventually moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he worked in a trio setting with

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and

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and played local clubs as the backing band for visiting Americans. He also worked with

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, and

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in the 1980s and 1990s.

Discography

* ''Mr. B'' Chet Baker Trio (Timeless, 1983) * ''Chet Baker Trio live at Ronnie Scott's'' (Jazzdor, 1986 and DVD, Wadham Film – Hendring, 1986) * ''Chet Baker Sings Again'' Chet Baker Quartet (Timeless, 1986) * ''La Note Bleue'' (IDA Records 1986) with

* ''French Ballads'' (IDA Records, 1987) with Barney Wilen * ''A Sip of Your Touch'' (IDA Records, 1989) * ''Sorserez'' (1995) with Jacques Pellen * ''Paris Suite'' Bob Brookmeyer New Quartet (Challenge, 1995) with

* ''Double Take'' (RAM Records 1998) with

* ''Voulouz Loar – Velluto di Luna'' (GWP, 1998) with

Annie Ebrel Annie Ebrel (born 1969) is a traditional Breton people, Breton singer of traditional ''Kan ha diskan'' (dance songs) and ''Gwerz'' (ballads). Background Annie Ebrel was born in 1969 in the village of Lohuec, near Callac, Côtes-d'Armor departme ...

* ''Soft Talk'' (Sketch, 2000) with

Michel Graillier Michel Graillier (18 October 1946, Lens, Pas-de-Calais, February 2003, Paris) was a French jazz pianist. Biography From the ages of four to eighteen, Graillier studied classical piano in Lens, France. During adolescence, he worked as a drummer ...

* ''Overnight'' (Sketch, 2002) with John Taylor and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, Order of Canada, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he w ...

* ''Empreintes'' (Sketch, 2003) with Bruno Angelini,

Ichirō Onoe , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons. He played the first nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the next 12 years w ...

* ''Roses and Roots'' (Nocturne, 2005) with Bruno Ruder, Sylvain Rifflet,

Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American drummer best-known for working in avant-garde jazz with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron, who is of Jewish heritage, was born on June 26, 1955, in Ric ...

* John Ruocco: ''Am I Asking Too Much'' ( Pirouet, 2008) with John Taylor * ''Sky Changes'' (Jazzheads, 2012) with

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...

, Benjamin von Gutzeit, Manhattan School of Music Chamber Jazz Ensemble & Tactus * ''My Chet My Song'' (Cristal Records, 2014) with Airelle Besson, Pierrick Pedron, Bruno Ruder,

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drumming, jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well as with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest (b ...

* ''Moving People'' (Cristal Records, 2018) with

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator, keyboardist and record label owner. Biography Born in Philadelphia to a musical family, Rosenwinkel began taking piano lessons when ...

, Tomasz Dąbrowski, Jan Prax, Rémi Fox, Carl-Henri Morisset, Jason Brown * ''Chet Visions'' (Cristal, 2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Del Fra, Riccardo Musicians from Rome Italian jazz double-bassists Italian composers Timeless Records artists Challenge Records artists