Enrico Valanzuolo

Enrico Valanzuolo was born in Naples in 1993. After an initial approach to classical guitar, which he studied for five years, he approached the trumpet, which he identifies as an instrument more akin to his personality, and began to take private lessons. After brilliantly completing a master’s degree in International Studies in 2018, he decided to enroll at the Conservatory of Naples “San Pietro a Majella” to perfect himself on the instrument and direct his future toward music. In 2020, he obtained the Second Level Academic Diploma in Jazz Music and in 2021 the one in Jazz Trumpet. Naples, a multicultural metropolis, is an essential resource and a stimulus for his personal growth, one that gives him the opportunity to draw on the fruits of an artistic ferment always active in the city and in constant evolution. In fact, his continuous search for a melodic discourse both in the compositional phase and in improvisation with the trumpet also derives from the cultural baggage of the Neapolitan song, which, over time, he learned to know and to embrace. Enrico Valanzuolo began his professional career as a trumpeter and composer studying with the best teachers of the Neapolitan scene, including Giulio Martino, Marco Sannini, Umberto Muselli, and Pietro Condorelli. Constantly looking for a personal and recognizable sound on the instrument, the sound of his trumpet is warm and mellow, and marked by an interest in lyricism and melody rather than a show off of the technique. His–more or less explicit–musical references are undoubtedly Chet Baker, Kenny Dorham, Ambrose Akinmusire, Kenny Wheeler, and Nils Petter Molvaer, just to mention the trumpet players. Gifted with a great versatility that allows him to move easily between several genres, Enrico ranges from singer-songwriter music (Francesco Lettieri, Roberto Ormanni & Quartet, LePuc) to World Music (Azul), from classical neapolitan to Jazz (Emilia Zamuner Trio). The latter, however, remains his privileged field of action. He regularly plays in small and medium- sized combos where he performs for Festivals and Reviews in Italy and Europe (Ravello Festival, Eunic MusikFest in Wien, JazzIt Fest, among others). He is also a member of the Symphonic Rhythmic Orchestra of the Conservatory of Naples. Additionally, he has several experiences in the theatrical field: he appeared as trumpet player in important festivals such as the Campania Teatro Festival, the Maggio della Musica and in the billboards of the Teatro Bellini in Naples, the Teatro Nuovo in Naples and the Teatro Instabile, among others.

In 2021 he was chosen to partecipate in the ronowned European Jazz’s Cool 2021 artistic residency held at the Saint Louis College of Music in Rome, and culminated with a concert at “La casa del Jazz” in Rome with the band Incerti Altrove feat Paolo Damiani. With the same band he performed at Mussikens Hus in Aalborg (Den) and at Metropolia Uas in Helsinki (Fi). In 2020, he created a Jazz Quintet that bears his name (Enrico Valanzuolo Quintet), with which he recently recorded his first album, Dream Big, due out with GleAM Records . Show less