Francesco Ponticelli

Born in 1983, Francesco Ponticelli began studying the guitar at the age of six and joined a blues band as an electric bassist in 1999.

He honed his skills at Siena Jazz under the guidance of Paolino Dalla Porta, Franco Fabbrini, Furio Di Castri, and Piero Leveratto. In 2003, he switched to the double bass and began collaborating with Stefano Cocco Cantini, Mirko Guerrini, and Piero Borri. In 2005, Enrico Rava commissioned him to form a new group, the "Enrico Rava New Generation"; with this ensemble, he performed at major Italian venues and recorded a debut album in 2006 that was successfully distributed by *L’Espresso* and *La Repubblica* (selling 40,000 copies).

During the summer of 2006, he served as an artist-in-residence at Umbria Jazz with the Giovanni Guidi Trio, recording the albums *Tomorrow Never Knows* (Venus) and *Indian Summer* (CamJazz)—the latter of which was presented at MIDEM. In 2006, he collaborated with the Enrico Rava Quintet as well as with Roberto Gatto, Gianluca Petrella, and Andrea Pozza, stepping in for Rosario Bonaccorso at major festivals in Italy and abroad. In 2007, he joined Gianluca Petrella’s Cosmic Band, recording a live album at the Casa della Musica in Rome that was produced and distributed by *La Repubblica* and *L’Espresso*.

With this group, he performed at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Umbria Jazz Winter, and Bergamo Jazz. Ponticelli is also a composer and a driving force behind various contemporary music and radical improvisation projects.

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