Roberto Magris (born 19 June 1959) is an Italian jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.

Early life

Magris was born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

, Italy, on 19 June 1959. He had piano lessons between the ages of four and sixteen. He became interested in jazz after hearing the

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

album '' The Way I Really Play'' in 1977.

Career 1980–2000

In the 1980s, he led the jazz trio Gruppo Jazz Marca and recorded three albums, '' Comunicazione Sonora'' (1982), ''Aria di Città'' (1983) and ''

Mitteleuropa (), meaning Middle Europe, is one of the German terms for Central Europe. The term has acquired diverse cultural, political and historical connotations. University of Warsaw, Johnson, Lonnie (1996) ''Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends'p ...

'' (1986), re-issued in 2006 by the English Label Arision. In 1987 he founded his Italian quartet, which operated for nearly 20 years, performing tours in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America and recording two albums, ''Life in Israel'' (issued by Jazzis) and ''Maliblues''. In the 1990s he founded the acid-jazz groups DMA Urban Jazz Funk and Alfabeats Nu Jazz, performing in Europe and in America and recording two albums, ''Up to the Beat'' (2003) and ''

Stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

'' (2006). In 1998 Magris formed the Europlane Orchestra (a central-European jazz venture sponsored by INCE-CEI

Central European Initiative The Central European Initiative (CEI) is a forum of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe, counting 18 member states. It was formed in Budapest in 1989. The body was developed on the basis of earlier experiences with The Alps-Adriatic ...

including several jazz musicians from various European countries. With the Europlane Orchestra he recorded 3 albums,Edward Blanc
Roberto Magris & The Europlane Orchestra: Current Views
''All About Jazz'' ''Live At Zooest'', ''Plays

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

'' and '' Current Views'' (issued by

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

Career 2000–present

In 2005, Magris partnered with Hungarian saxophonist Tony Lakatos on the album ''

Check-In Check-in is the process whereby people announce their arrival at an office, hotel, airport, hospital, seaport or event. Office check-in Many offices have a reception or front office area near the entrance to greet or assist visitors arriving to ...

'' (issued by Soul Note). In 2006 Magris collaborated with bassist

Art Davis Arthur David Davis (December 6, 1934 – July 29, 2007) was a double-bassist, known for his work with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Max Roach. Biography Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United S ...

and drummer Jimmy "Junebug" Jackson on the album '' Kansas City Outbound'' (issued by JMood). That same year, he collaborated with alto saxophonist Herb Geller on the album ''

Il Bello del Jazz ''Il Bello del Jazz'' is an album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris released on the Soul Note label in 2011, including performances by the Roberto Magris Europlane featuring saxophonist Herb Geller. Reception The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awa ...

'' (issued by Soul Note) and some years later, the JMood released a more album with Herb Geller entitled '' An Evening with Herb Geller & The Roberto Magris Trio – Live in Europe 2009''. In the United States, Magris became the musical director of JMood Records and recorded two albums in tribute to the trumpeter

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' ...

, two albums on trio with Elisa Pruett and Albert "Tootie" Heath devoted to the music of pianist Elmo Hope, and another to the legacy of alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. He recorded one album in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

with

Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad ( ar, إدريس محمد; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians suc ...

and saxmen Paul Carr and Michael O'Neill, ''

Mating Call A mating call is the auditory signal used by animals to attract mates. It can occur in males or females, but literature is abundantly favored toward researching mating calls in females. In addition, mating calls are often the subject of mate choi ...

'', one album with

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

n Sam Reed, one double CD set in tribute to the

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrum ...

era, '' Aliens in a Bebop Planet'', and three albums with his trio from

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

('' Enigmatix'', ''

Need to Bring Out Love ''Need to Bring Out Love'' is an album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris released on the JMood label in 2016, featuring performances by Magris with his trio from Kansas City. Reception The All About Jazz review by Edward Blanco awarded the album 4 ...

'' and '' World Gardens''). He recorded three albums in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

, ''Roberto Magris Sextet

Live in Miami @ The WDNA Jazz Gallery ''Live in Miami @ The WDNA Jazz Gallery'' is an album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris recorded live in Miami at the WDNA radio station's Jazz Gallery, released on the JMood label in 2017, and featuring performances by the Roberto Magris Sextet, a ...

'' with a group including Brian Lynch, '' Sun Stone'' featuring

Ira Sullivan Ira Sullivan (May 1, 1931 – September 21, 2020) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, flautist, saxophonist, and composer born in Washington, D.C., United States. An active musician since the 1950s, he often worked with Red Rodney a ...

and ''

Match Point ''Match Point'' is a 2005 psychological thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, and Penelope Wilton. In the film, Rhys Meyers' chara ...

''. He also recorded three albums in

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, ''

Suite! ''Suite!'' is a double album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris released on the JMood label in 2019, featuring performances by Magris with his group from Chicago. Reception The All About Jazz review by Dan McClenaghan awarded the album 4½ stars and ...

'', with a group including trumpeter Eric Jacobson and tenor saxophonist Mark Colby, ''

Shuffling Ivories ''Shuffling Ivories'' is a duo album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris and bassist Eric Hochberg recorded in Chicago, released on the JMood label in 2021. Reception The '' All About Jazz'' review by Dan McClenaghan awarded the album 4 stars and s ...

'' on duo with bassist Eric Hochberg, and '' Duo & Trio'' on duo with Mark Colby a.o. In Europe, Magris has performed at festivals and jazz clubs with the MUH Trio (Roberto Magris/František Uhlíř/Jaromir Helešic Trio), which has its base in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and recorded the albums '' Prague After Dark'' in 2016 and '' A Step into Light'' in 2020 (both issued by JMood). Magris has performed concerts on piano solo and for jazz piano, orchestra, and strings with the Big Band Ritmo Sinfonica from

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

and the Orchestra Giovanile del Veneto, recording the album '' Restless Spirits - Big Band Ritmo-Sinfonica Città di Verona plays the music of Roberto Magris'' (issued by Velut Luna). Critic Edward Blanco at '' AllAboutJazz'' called Magris "one of the finest piano players on the planet".

Playing style

Jazz critic

Ira Gitler Ira Gitler (December 18, 1928 – February 23, 2019) was an American jazz historian and journalist. The co-author of ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he wrote hundreds of ...

wrote: "As a pianist,

agris AGRIS (International System for Agricultural Science and Technology) is a global public domain database with more than 12 million structured bibliographical records on agricultural science and technology. It became operational in 1975 and the data ...

reflects some of his most admired models –

Wynton Kelly Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of ...

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gr ...

, Andrew Hill,

Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live performance on the Moog and ...

Don Pullen Don Gabriel Pullen (December 25, 1941 – April 22, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Pullen developed a strikingly individual style throughout his career. He composed pieces ranging from blues to bebop and modern jazz. The grea ...

and

Steve Kuhn Steve Kuhn (born March 24, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. Biography Kuhn was born in New York City, New York, to Carl and Stella Kuhn (née Kaufman), and was raised in Newton, Massachusetts. Hi ...

– (a varied group indeed) in his own way. There is a quick, supple right hand and the rich harmonies of the two-handed transition in his playing that don’t necessarily summon up instant comparisons to any of the above or others."

Discography

* ''Life in Israel'', with Larry Smith, Marco Castelli, Ofer Israeli, Luigi Rossi and Davide Ragazzoni (Jazzis, 1990) * ''

Music of Today ''Roberto Magris & The D.I. Project: Music of Today'' is an album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris recorded in Germany and released on the Splasc(h) label in 1991, featuring performances by Magris with a German-Italian jazz ensemble. Reception Th ...

'', with Martin Klingeberg, Achim Goettert-Zadek, Marco Castelli, Joerg Drewing, Albrecht Riermeier, Rudi Engel and Davide Ragazzoni (Splasch, 1992) * ''Maliblues'' (Map, 1994) * ''

'', with Tony Lakatos, Michael Erian,

Robert Balzar Robert Balzar (born 11 May 1962) is a Czech jazz bassist and composer who was born in Náchod. Robert Balzar studied bass at academy of music in Brno. After working with various groups, he founded ''Robert Balzar Trio'' in 1996. The collaboratio ...

, Gabriele Centis and Fulvio Zafret (

, 2005) * ''

'', with Herb Geller, Darko Jurkovic, Rudi Engel and Gabriele Centis (Soul Note, 2006) * '' Current Views'', with Philip Catherine, Bill Molenhof,

Roberto Ottaviano Roberto Ottaviano (Bari, 21 December 1957) is an Italian jazz saxophonist.Richard Cook & Brian Morton. ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD''. 6th Edition, London, Penguin, 2002. . Discography * Arrigo Cappelletti/Roberto Ottaviano Quartet, ''Sama ...

, Vitold Rek a.o. (Soul Note, 2009) * '' Kansas City Outbound'' with

and Jimmy „Junebug“ Jackson (JMood Records, JMood, 2008) * ''

'', with Paul Carr, Michael O'Neill, Elisa Pruett and

(JMood, 2010) * ''Canzoni Italiane in Jazz'' (Pop-Eye, 2011) * '' Morgan Rewind: A Tribute to Lee Morgan Vol. 1'', with Brandon Lee, Logan Richardson, Elisa Pruett and Albert "Tootie" Heath (JMood, 2012) * ''

One Night in with Hope and More Vol. 1 ''One Night in with Hope and More Vol. 1'' is an album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris released on the JMood label in 2012, featuring performances by the Roberto Magris Trio with Elisa Pruett and Albert “Tootie” Heath. Reception The World Mu ...

'', with Elisa Pruett and Albert "Tootie" Heath (JMood, 2012) * '' Aliens in a Bebop Planet'', with Matt Otto, Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Pablo Sanhueza and Eddie Charles (JMood, 2012) * '' Ready for Reed - Sam Reed Meets Roberto Magris'', with Sam Reed, Kendall Moore, Steve Lambert, Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever and Pablo Sanhueza (JMood, 2013) * '' Cannonball Funk'n Friends'', with Hermon Mehari,

Jim Mair James McKay Mair (born May 15, 1946) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 76 games in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and Vancouver Canucks, and several seasons in the minor Eastern Hockey League ...

, Dominique Sanders and Alonzo Scooter Powell (JMood, 2013) * ''

One Night in with Hope and More Vol. 2 ''One Night in with Hope and More Vol. 2'' is an album by jazz pianist Roberto Magris released on the JMood label in 2013, featuring performances by the Roberto Magris Trio with Elisa Pruett and Albert “Tootie” Heath (2009 session), and with ...

'', with Elisa Pruett, Brian Steever and Albert "Tootie" Heath (JMood, 2013) * '' Morgan Rewind: A Tribute to Lee Morgan Vol. 2'', with Hermon Mehari, Jim Mair, Peter Schlamb, Elisa Pruett, Brian Steever and Pablo Sanhueza (JMood, 2013) * '' An Evening with Herb Geller & The Roberto Magris Trio – Live in Europe 2009'', with Herb Geller a.o. (JMood, 2014) * '' Enigmatix'', with Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Pablo Sanhueza and Monique Danielle (JMood, 2015) * ''

'', with Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Julia Haile and Monique Danielle (JMood, 2016) * ''

- Roberto Magris Sextet'' with Brian Lynch, Jonathan Gomez, Chuck Bergeron, John Yarling and Murph Aucamp (JMood, 2017) * '' World Gardens'', with Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever and Pablo Sanhueza (JMood, 2018) * '' Sun Stone'', with

, Mark Colby, Shareef Clayton, Jamie Ousley, Rodolfo Zuniga (JMood, 2019) * ''

'', with Mark Colby, Eric Jacobson, Eric Hochberg, Greg Artry, PJ Aubree Collins (JMood, 2019) * ''Live In Melbourne'', with Ettore Martin, Rob Severini, Enzo Carpentieri (RSP, 2020) * ''

'', with Eric Hochberg (JMood, 2021) * ''

'', with Alfredo Chacon, Dion Kerr, Rodolfo Zuniga (JMood, 2021) * '' Duo & Trio'', with Mark Colby a.o. (JMood, 2022)

with the MUH Trio (Magris/Uhlir/Helesic Trio)

* '' Prague After Dark'', with František Uhlíř and Jaromir Helešic (JMood, 2017) * '' A Step into Light'', with František Uhlíř and Jaromir Helešic (JMood, 2020)

with the Gruppo Jazz Marca

* '' Comunicazione Sonora'' (IAF, 1982 - re-issued by Arision, 2005) * ''Aria di Città'' (IAF, 1983 - re-issued by Arision, 2009) * ''

'' (Gulliver, 1986 - re-issued by Arision, 2006)

with the Europlane Orchestra

* '' Live at Zooest'' (Zooest, 1998) * ''Plays Kurt Weill'', with Ines Reiger (Pull, 2000)

with the Big Band Ritmo-Sinfonica Città di Verona

* '' Restless Spirits - Big Band Ritmo-Sinfonica Città di Verona plays the music of Roberto Magris'' (Velut Luna, 2009)

with the DMA Urban Jazz Funk

* ''DMA Urban Jazz Funk - Up to the Beat'' (Map, 2003)

with the Alfabeats Nu Jazz

* ''

'' (Oasis, 2006)

References

External links

Mike Jeffer
Interview with Roberto Magris
''Chicago Jazz Magazine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Magris, Roberto 1959 births Living people Italian jazz pianists Italian male pianists Italian jazz bandleaders Jazz record producers Music industry executives 20th-century Italian musicians 21st-century Italian musicians 21st-century pianists 20th-century Italian male musicians 21st-century Italian male musicians Male jazz musicians