Luisa Cottifogli

Luisa is an artist of the voice: voice to her means singing, transforming sounds, composing, improvising, acting and traveling in different cultures, but starting from the culture she belongs to, then drawing from this palette of colors to “paint” her sound projects.

She was born in Trentino on the Alps, from a Friulian mother of Slavic language and father from the Marche region, she lived and studied in Romagna and then in Emilia. From this varied terrain comes her interest in the different sounds and timbres of the spoken languages ​​and therefore for the various sound traditions that follow.

Luisa Cottifogli obtained a diploma in both singing (Conservatorio G.B. Martini) and acting (Accademia Antoniana) at Bologna. She performed in the same city as a soprano at Teatro Comunale dell’Opera, as an actress at Teatro delle Moline (member of its company) and as a radio-broadcaster for her national radio-tv (RAI). She has been singing early music and a cappella music in Italy and Europe, then experimented new vocal styles, contemporary opera, jazz.

She was awarded, together with San Petronius Trio (Enrico Guerzoni and Aurelio Zarrelli) with the Ispra Prize in 1992 and Filarmonica Romana Prize in 1994.

She created the female vocal sextet Vocinblue, arranging a cappella music and collaborating with such Italian artists as Ivano Fossati (Macramè), Lucio Dalla (Milingo), Glauco Mauri (The Tempest by Shakespeare), Nicola Campogrande (Capelas Imperfeitas).

She sang in Arabic and Italian with the band Metissage alongside John De Leo, releasing a cd of the same name. (Il Manifesto 1997, featuring Teresa De Sio and Rita Marcotulli). Together with Marlevar, singing in Provencale language, she appeared in the Chieftains’ Italian tour ’02 and released the cd also entitled “Marlevar” (Forrest Hill Records 1997).

Thanks to the journalist Niranjan Jhaveri (Mumbai-New York) she obtained a scholarship from Jazz Yatra and moved to India, studying and performing there. After this experience she starts composing and working on original projects and multimedia performances: in solo voice or together with other musicians and visual artists (Gabriele Bombardini, Enrico Guerzoni, Leo Z, Gabriele Mirabassi, Simone Zanchini, Gianni Pirollo, Andrea Bernabini, Gian Luca Beccari, Antonia Ciampi, Enrico Benetta…).

Live projects and recordings came to life such as Aiò Nenè (commissioned to her by the National Austrian Radio ORF) and Rumì (Forrest Hill Records, awarded with “Imola in Musica Prize” and nomination at “Tenco Prize”, produced and arranged by Leo Z, with orchestra conduction by Mauro Malavasi and mastering by Serse Mai).

Furthermore, she performs as an actress-singer-composer : Anita dei due mondi dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi’s wife Anita, a Ravenna Festival production (directed by Vetrano and Randisi with script by Federica Iacobelli and musicians such as Gabriele Bombardini, Enrico Guerzoni, Gabriele Mirabassi, Gianni Pirollo, Chicco Capiozzo): several pieces from the show are collected in the concept album Anita (Nuccia-Egea 2010).

From 2005 to 2009 Luisa Cottifogli has been the vocalist of Quintorigo: the band with which she released several CDs and is awarded in 2008 with the Top Jazz Award (the best Italian jazz magazine “Musica Jazz” award).

In 2013 together with the bassist Aldo Mella and the percussionist Gigi Biolcati she creates the YOULOOK trio and releases the album Desert Island (Art Up 2014). In 2018 Massimo Serra replaces Gigi and a new record comes out: Chapter II (Ultrasound Records).

In 2016 she makes her debut in Pupattole, a tribute to the singer-actress Laura Betti directed by Francesca Ballico on stage with Camilla Missio on bass, and in a multimedia tribute to the priest philosopher David Maria Turoldo: Turoldo Vivo (music by Valter Sivilotti and Riccardo Miani, staging by Giuliano Bonanni, directed by Giuseppe Tirelli).

She is called by Riccardo Tesi to be part of the revisitation of the historical Bella Ciao concert alongside Lucilla Galeazzi, Elena Ledda, Alessio Lega and Ginevra Di Marco. This show is still circulating throughout Europe.

Luisa Cottifogli recently released her latest album Come un albero d’inverno (Like a tree in winter), in which voices play a major role: produced together with Gabriele Bombardini it is dedicated to the North, mountains and metaphorically to the hard life of mankind.

She performed at the most important festivals in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Romania, Slovenia, Macedonia, United States, United Kingdom, Hungary, China and India.

Among her collaborations also are Andrea Parodi (Tazenda), Guo Yue, Giovanna Marini (composer and ethnomusicologist), David Riondino, Flavio Premoli (PFM), Andrea Centazzo, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Tomaso Lama.

As a teacher of Vocal Technique and Choral Music, she worked at CEPAM in Reggio Emilia, at Vassura-Baroncini Municipal School of Music and Ca ‘Vaina Center in Imola, at AMR Music School in Ravenna. She collaborates with various institutions and music festivals throughout Italy, holding Vocal Technique and Choral Improvisation workshops (Orchestra Vocale).

Her passion for nature and herbs has led her to deepen the knowledge of medicinal plants, also obtaining the Certificate of Professional Qualification as “Phytotherapist and Herbalist” from the Campania Region and attending the enabling courses, recognized by the provinces of Trento and Bolzano (Trentino Alto Adige), to “Cultivation, first processing and sale of medicinal plants “and” Harvest and marketing of edible plants “. Luisa is also part of CGAM, the Metropolitan Environmental Guards Corps in the province of Bologna. Show less