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Tommaso Starace
Member Since: 2009 | Location: London | Page Views: 2,404About Me
Freelance professional jazz saxophonist
Tommaso Starace Quartet - Don't Forget' marks a new exciting musical time for saxophonist Tommaso in the year 2009. The CD was recently recorded with a new exciting Italian line up featuring piano prodigy Michele Di Toro, Attilio Zanchi on bass ( Paolo Fresu's collaborator for many years) and the hard swinging drumming of Tommy Bradascio. Renowned jazz author and critic Vittorio Franchini says of Tommaso's new recording : ' The sax is filled with voices, it sings gaiety.......I like the way he follows joyful paths, I imagine him playing around with rhythms, playing with the other instruments, opening up to new feelings and inventing new ways...' His previous album 'Tommaso Starace plays the photos of Elliott Erwitt' allowed the young saxophonist to tour twice round the United Kingdom performing with his quintet in some of the most prestigious jazz clubs, festivals and concert halls including The Purcell Room - Queens Elizabeth Hall, Pizza Express - Dean Street, Drill Hall - Lincoln, Swanage Jazz Festival, Jazz at the Fleece, St Davids Hall - Cardiff, Royal Festival Hall Foyer, to name a few. This recording also gave him the possibility to visit jazz clubs and festivals in Italy including Le Scimmie - Milan, Time in Jazz Festival and Nuoro Jazz Festival - Sardenia, Borgo jazz Club - Genova and others. Favourable reviews followed his performances and CD releases: '...The promising Starace seems to be revealing his most personal voice in the full-on music.' - John Fordham, The Guardian 'Starace's melodious originals offer good blowing potential for alto and soprano solos delivered in a cleanly articulate post-bop style reminiscent of Phill Woods.' - Jack Massarik, Jazzwise 'The rhythm section is dynamic and Starace is star material' - Ian Carr, jazz author/educator/musician Tommaso has recorded three CD's as a band leader. His repertoire ranges from his own compositions to modern interpretations of standards. His aim through composition is to write tunes with a strong melodic component exploring traditional and more contemporary harmony and always maintaining the sense of swing and groove. Not surprisingly some of Tommaso's influences are Cannonball Adderley, Clifford Brown, Joshua Redman, Brandford Marsalis, Ennio Morricone, Stevie Wonder, Maurice Ravel. But his passion for black and white photography, painting and cinema are also a continuous inspiration to his writing and music. Born in 1975 in Milano, Italy Tommaso started playing the saxophone and studying music at the age of 18. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1994 where he graduated at Birmingham Conservatoire with a Bmus first class honours and later at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama with a Postgraduate Degree in jazz studies in the year 2000. He has performed with some of the most respected jazz musicians including Billy Cobham, David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Stan Sulzmann, Jim Mullen, Jonathan Gee, Paolo Pellegatti, Gianni Giudici. In the year 2004 he collaborated with award winning oscar film composer Dario Marianelli ( 'Pride and Prejudice' and ' The Atonement' ) recording music for 'This Little Life', a BBC drama for Channel Four. In 2008 Tommaso was awarded with an Honorary Membership by Birmingham Conservatoire given to him for his significant contributions made across the years within the various branches of the music profession. Tommaso is currently busy performing concerts between the United Kingdom and Italy and is currently working on a new album with a new exciting Uk line up; the album will be coming out at the end of 2009.
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-05.
