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Riccardo Brazzale (born in Thiene, VI – 1960) is in the field of jazz as a musician (arranger, composer, conductor, pianist), scholar, teacher and promoter.
After his classical (piano and composition) and jazz studies (D’Andrea, piano, and Rava, ensemble music) he graduated in Bologna with a thesis on Lennie Tristano (supervisor: Giampiero Cane), which was later re-written with Franco Fayenz and published by Nuovi Equilibri.
Since the start of his career, Brazzale has been collaborating with Claudio Fasoli. Then, in 1989 he formed the Lydian Sound Orchestra – an atypical medium-band with six winds and rhythmic session. The group’s aesthetical peculiarity is based on the re-working of Monk and Ellington’s tradition according to contemporary approaches and on a compositional technique the main goal of which is to keep a work-in-progress spirit alive.
The L.S.O. has played in many jazz and classical contemporary music festivals, in theatre events and cultural meetings, in Italy and in Europe. It has also made several recordings for Rai Radio Tre and has recorded many CDs. Most notably are their debut album “Melodious Thunk” (1993), the unpublished Ellington’s suite “Timon of Athens” (1995), the “Bukowski Blues” (1999), the fundamental tribute “Monk at Town Hall & More” (2002), and finally the CDs recorded for AlmaRecords: “Back to Da Capo” (2006), "Live in Appleby" (2008, recorded in England, during their tour in 2007) and "The Lydian Trip" (2009).
The L.S.O. repertoire has often been broadcast by Italian, European and American radio stations and has also been widely acclaimed by Italian and international journalists and critics. It includes re-workings and tributes to traditional jazz, original music and Italian composers.
Since 2002 the line-up features Pietro Tonolo, Robert Bonisolo, Rossano Emili (reeds), Kyle Gregory, Roberto Rossi and Dario Duso (brass), Paolo Birro (piano), Marc Abrams (bass) and Mauro Beggio (drums).
Many young musicians and especially outstanding Italian (Rava, Fasoli, Trovesi, D’Andrea, Fresu, Intra, Bosso, Boltro, Negri, Mirabassi, the pop vocalist Rossana Casale) and international musicians have played with Riccardo Brazzale and with the L.S.O.: Palle Danielsson, Ralph Towner, Kenny Wheeler, Manfred Schoff, Paul Motian, Terrell Stafford, Charles Mc Pherson, Julian Arguelles, Dave Liebman, Don Moye and Mingus Dynasty (2010) to name but a few.
In the last few years, according to “Top Jazz”, the chart published by the historical magazine Musica Jazz, the L.S.O. has been named one of the most outstanding groups on the Italian jazz scene: it won second place in 2006, 2008 and again in 2009 (in 2008 it also earned first place in the “orchestra” category); and a meaningful fourth placing in 2002 and 2010.
Top Jazz also named Brazzale as “arranger and composer of the year” in 2008, awarding him second place in 2009 and 2010.
In addition to his work with the L.S.O. Brazzale has also collaborated with other artists and orchestras (for example, he is the guest director of the Milano Civica Big Band) but he is not only a musician: he is also an essayist and translator for daily newspapers and jazz magazines. With Franco Fayenz, he wrote an important book about "Lennie Tristano", published by Nuovi Equilibri (2006); he has supervised the Italian edition of Geoff Dyer’s collection of tales “But Beautiful”, published in Italy under the title Natura morta con custodia di sax (Instar libri) and John Fordham’s encyclopaedic "Jazz" (Idea Libri Rusconi). He is also the author of an original American diary entitled Xè pi isy draivare 'l caro, an Anglo-venetian expression for "It’s easier to drive a car" (Agorà 2001).
Brazzale is the headmaster of the Veneto Music Institute "Città di Thiene" and he teaches history of Afro-American Music at the Music Conservatorium in Vicenza. He is also the artistic manager of musical projects (in particular the Teatro Olimpico’s productions) and the supervisor of the editorial activity of the Culture Department of the City of Vicenza (he has been the editor of the book series I Quaderni del Teatro Olimpico since 2001). He was also co-founder of the I-Jazz association and the record label Almar.
Lastly, Brazzale is the artistic director of the Festival "New Conversations – Vicenza Jazz", a festival he founded in 1996.
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