Andrea Tofanelli

ANDREA TOFANELLI (Viareggio, Italy, July 26th, 1965). Mentioned on Wikipedia in many  languages ​​and in many other music books and encyclopedias, is considered one of the world's leading trumpeters specialized on Maynard Ferguson’s jazz trumpet-style, but he is well known for his skills as crossover musician too. In 1987 Andrea ended his Conservatory studies with highest full marks, graduating cum laude. During his career he has been performing in the most prestigious festivals and theaters of Italy, USA, Japan, Cina, Canada, Germany, Norway, Australia, England, Brazil, Luxemburg, Poland, Malta, Sweden, Finland, France, Russia, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Scotland, Romania, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Serbia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Hungary, Egypt and Principality of Monaco. In 2008 he received the Visa O-1 for extraordinary skill in the arts from the USA Government and in 2014 he joined the prestigious Board of Directors of the ITG International Trumpet Guild in the USA, first Italian trumpeter in the history and still continuing today as ITG counselor. In 2023 Andrea Tofanelli has been called to join permanently the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) in Los Angeles as effective voting member for the Grammy Awards. He is currently the only trumpet player in the world called by the two Giacomo Puccini’s Foundations to perform Puccini’s music in Jazz. In duo with Riccardo Arrighini on piano, he opened the "7th Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum 2017" organized by the Council of Europe on Cultural Routes performing "Puccini Opera and Jazz” in Lucca, while in 2024 they opened the inauguration ceremony of the new Belvedere Puccini in Torre del Lago, only musicians in history authorized to play Puccini in Jazz directly on Maestro Puccini’s personal piano in his villa. Lead trumpet and soloist in the most important Italian TV shows of the last 30 years (over 100 tv shows) for RAI, MEDIASET, LA7 and SKY channels, and very in demand as session man in the most important studios in Italy and abroad (more than 600 albums and DVDs recorded, many of them winners of Golden Discs and music awards all around Europe), he has collaborated with almost all the most famous Italian artists like Luciano Pavarotti, Jovanotti, Fiorello, Adriano Celentano, Claudio Baglioni, Gianni Morandi, Renato Zero, Elio e le Storie Tese, Antonella Ruggiero, Toto Cutugno, YuYu, Irene Grandi, Fausto Leali, Art. 31, Gino Paoli, Tullio De Piscopo, Francesco Baccini, Ivana Spagna, Andrea Mingardi, Rossana Casale, Dirotta on Cuba, Demo Morselli Orchestra as well as many international stars like Paul Anka, Gloria Gaynor, Amy Stewart, Donna Summer, Randy Crawford, Carl Anderson, Gibson Brothers, Matt Bianco, Kid Creole Kid and the Coconuts, Samantha Fox, Imagination, Patrick Hernandez, Paul Young, Petula Clark).

In the jazz field, he performed and toured with legendary names like Maynard Ferguson, Gino Vannelli, Peter Erskine, Randy Brecker, Eric Marienthal, Claudio Roditi, Kenny Wheeler, Tom Harrell, Paul Jeffrey, Dave Liebman, Dusko Gojkovich, Steve Swallow, Frank Foster, New York Voices, Till Brönner, Valery Ponomarev, Carl Anderson, Lee Konitz, John Taylor, Palle Daniellson, Lew Soloff and collaborated with all the best Italians jazz artists. He also performed as international soloist with the Atlanta Seventeen Big Band, Joe Gransden Big Band, Sandvika Storband (Norway), Yuzo Kataoka All-Star Big Band (Japan), Ralph (Italy), New England Jazz Band, Jazz Band of San Diego, Pyl's All-Star Big Band (Australia), Luxembourg Jazz Orchestra, Opus78 Big Band, Harmonie Bascharage (Luxembourg), SMZ Big Band, ZHdK Big Band (Switzerland), Jazz Orchestra in Karlsruhe (Germany). He is a regular member of the Yamaha European Trumpet All Star and won the “Swiss Jazz Award” (2009) and a Platinum Record (2015) with the prestigious Dani Felber Big Band in Switzerland. Worldwide appreciated as trumpet teacher and clinician, thanks to his enormous professional activity that gave him skills and experiences in all existing genres of music, from jazz to classical, from pop to contemporary and beyond, Andrea is one of the very few trumpet professors in the world teaching both Classical Trumpet (“Conservatory of Music “Vecchi-Tonelli” in Modena) and Jazz Trumpet (at the prestigious “Scuola di Musica di Fiesole” in Florence) and he is regularly invited to teach in several American universities, European and Asian conservatories. He is currently also professor and performing artist of M° Otto Sauter’s WBA World & European Brass Association and his WBA International Online Trumpet Academy. Andrea collaborated as first trumpet and soloist with many prestigious classical orchestras too, like Sinfonieorchester Basel, ORT Orchestra Regionale Toscana, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Emilia-Romagna “A. Toscanini”, Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro Regio di Torino, EUR Spettacoli, Orchestra del Teatro del Giglio di Lucca, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Camerata Strumentale di Prato and Orchestra da Camera Lucchese).

Gear

Andrea Tofanelli is a YAMAHA artist.