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Luca Aquino

Luca Aquino is one of the most talented Italian trumpet players, known for innovative proposals and for his trumpet sound. Born in the town of Benevento, in Southern Italy, he was mainly self-taught when he began to play the trumpet at the age of nineteen. For two years he abandoned the practice of the instrument to pursue a Master degree in Economics. The love for the sound of Miles Davis and Chet Baker brought him back to the study of trumpet and led him to devote himself completely to music. In 2007 Universal Music published his first album as a leader, “Sopra Le Nuvole”; and a year later he recorded “Lunaria”, with guest Roy Hargrove and Maria Pia De Vito, for which he won the “Top Jazz” award by the Italian magazine Musica Jazz. In 2009, he recorded in the ancient Turkish bath of Skopje (Macedonia) “Amam”, then “TSC “in a church in the Netherlands. In 2010, he recorded “Icaro Solo”, a project for solo trumpet and electronics, in a church in Benevento. After creating the festival Riverberi, he initiated collaborations with musicians and artists; including Mimmo Paladino that led to the registration of “Chiaro”, an album in trio with a Norwegian rhythm section, featuring Lucio Dalla as a special guest. In 2012, after a major live project with Jon Hassell, for the Church of Saint Augustine in Benevento, he joined the quartet of the percussionist Manu Katché and recorded two albums with them. In 2013 along with the accordionist Carmine Ioanna he recorded “aQustico” for Tuk Music and embarked with him on a world tour. 2015 is the year of his seventh album as bandleader: “OverDOORS”, a personal tribute to his favorite band, The Doors.

After having directed the ” Pozzuoli Jazz Festival ” and the ” Bari Jazz ” , on April 7th  2016 he took part in the event ” Manu & Friends ” sharing the stage of the Olympia in Paris with Sting , Richard Bona, Noa, Stephan Eicher, Raul Midon and Tore Brunborg.  2016 is also the year of the production and the commercial launch of the signature trumpet model “Aquino”, which was handcrafted by the Dutch artisan Hub Van Laar based on Luca’s musical touch.
His musical influences are rooted in the early plays of Baker and Davis, for which he was given the nickname of “Apostle of Miles “, but also in the Rock of The Doors, AC/DC in the Jefferson Airplane, Muddy Waters, Little Steven and are reflected in projects ranging between different musical genres, including jazz, hip hop and grunge. He is also known for his musical research on the natural sound, the use of electronics and his passion for musical experimentation in unusual places, for which he is also described as “Innovative sonic explorer”. Similarly, the critics recognize in him that particular Italian distinctive artistic trait that recalls the journey, the creativity and the visionary talent. Places and stories are the core of some of his best projects such as ‘Riverberi’, the festival in Benevento that sees him as the founder and director, which uses the natural acoustics of historical places as a central element of the performance. The world tours go hand in hand with the love for his hometown. His last extraordinary project in 2015 was the recording of an album in the archaeological site of Petra, in Jordan, in collaboration with the Jordanian National Orchestra. “Petra” project saw the involvement of prestigious partners such as UNESCO Amman Office, the Petra Development and Tourism Authority and the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization. An unprecedented initiative, promoted within the global campaign # UNITE4HERITAGE, launched by UNESCO, in defense of the artistic and cultural heritage by the terrorist crimes.

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Album Review

Dario Miranda: La Dormiente

Read "La Dormiente" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Jazz is not just music; it is a conversation and Dario Miranda is one smooth-talking storyteller. His latest album, La Dormiente, is not merely a collection of tracks; it is an auditory odyssey that pirouettes between the traditional and the avant-garde with the grace of a classically trained dancer wearing electric sneakers. From the moment “Dolce Rumore" whispers its first notes, Miranda's double bass becomes less of an instrument and more of a narrative voice. Joined by Giovanni ...

5
Album Review

Luca Aquino: Lunaria 2

Read "Lunaria 2" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


Over the decades, Italian trumpeter Luca Aquino has delivered intelligent and thought-provoking music which, if one allows immersion in it, yields a treasure trove of beauty. He is a soulfully introspective artist whose lush playing and textural compositions channel, and at times rival, that of players such as Chet Baker, Tomasz Stanko, Roy Hargrove (with whom he has recorded), Miles Davis and Chris Botti. Aquino's Lunaria 2 offers 15 tracks of highly-textured and stimulating music. The elegaic “Amman" ...

Album Review

Emiliano D'Auria Quartet feat. Luca Aquino: In-Equilibrio

Read "In-Equilibrio" reviewed by Neri Pollastri


Disco piuttosto tradizionale, che alterna momenti ora giocosi, come l'iniziale “Le cirque des regardes," ora malinconici, come “Sergej," ora più schiettamente lirici, come “In-equilibrio" e “Mindfullness," tali da mettere a frutto le qualità narrative dell'ospite Luca Aquino, ma anche quelle pianistiche del leader della formazione, Emiliano D'Auria. Le atmosfere vengono vivacizzate da un impasto di colori nel quale svolgono una parte importante Ermanno Baron --che alla batteria unisce una misura che ben si armonizza con il clima e interventi timbricamente ...

8
Album Review

Mauro Sigura Quartet: Terra Vetro

Read "Terra Vetro" reviewed by Chris May


Although the Italian oud player and composer Mauro Sigura bills his band as a world-jazz group which combines traditional Ottoman-Mediterranean music with modern European jazz, the band's sophomore album is not full-on, capped-up World Jazz in the manner of, say, fellow oudist Anouar Brahem's Blue Maqams (ECM, 2017). That album, made with double bassist Dave Holland, drummer Jack DeJohnette and pianist Django Bates, is founded four-square on traditional Levantine modes and structures. Sigura's work, by contrast, is lyrical European jazz ...

Interview

Luca Aquino: Gong, il Suono dell'Ultimo Round

Read "Luca Aquino: Gong, il Suono dell'Ultimo Round" reviewed by Paolo Marra


Dalla registrazione del suo primo disco da leader nel 2007 dal titolo Sopra le nuvole e il successivo Lunaria—con la partecipazione di Roy Hargrove—passando per Chiaro, registrato per l'etichetta Tǔk nel 2011, Luca Aquino ha intrapreso una personale ricerca del suono della tromba in bilico tra Miles Davis, Chet Baker, rock e sperimentazione. Una propensione all'ampliamento dello spettro sonoro attraverso soluzioni acustiche inedite posta dal trombettista campano al centro del suo essere viaggiatore nel mondo, alla ...

5
Album Review

Luca Aquino: Italian Songbook

Read "Italian Songbook" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


Given a stroke of sfortuna, trumpet players can encounter physically and psychologically debilitating facial injuries. Maladies such as embouchure overuse, lip muscle tears, trauma, dystonia and Bell's Palsy can disrupt or end careers. After a devastating bout with Bell's Palsy, obtaining the guidance of trumpet “Yoda," Bobby Shew, and undergoing a lengthy recovery, Italian trumpeter Luca Aquino has delivered Italian Songbook—an utterly brilliant and beautiful production. Aquino, fronting various-sized ensembles, offers a dozen sublime selections each emanating ...

Album Review

Luca Aquino: Aqustico vol 2

Read "Aqustico vol 2" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Il secondo volume di Aqustico conferma l'appassionante ricerca documentata nel precedente album, con qualche diversità: a quattro anni dal quintetto di fine 2012 il trombettista beneventano compie nuove esplorazioni, privilegiando la relazione col fisarmonicista Carmine Ioanna (a cui si aggiunge in un paio di brani Giampiero Franco alle percussioni) e concedendo qualche spazio all'elettronica. Sorvoliamo sulla sfortunata sospensione (una paresi facciale) del «Jazz Bike Tour» che nella scorsa estate avrebbe dovuto portare Luca Aquino in un tour ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Lunaria 2

Parco Della Musica
2024

buy

La Dormiente

Losen Records
2024

buy

In-Equilibrio

Losen Records
2022

buy

Terra Vetro

S'ard Music
2020

buy

Italian Songbook

ACT Music
2019

buy

Aqustico vol 2

Losen Records
2017

buy

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