Michele Di Toro on piano, Attilio Zanchi on bass, and Tommy Bradascio on drums make up the 'Tommaso Starace Italian Quartet'.
While taking part in the 'Time in Jazz' and 'Nuoro Jazz' Festivals in 2007, Tommaso was fortunate to hear play and meet personally renown bass player Attilio Zanchi a long time collaborator of Paolo Fresu's Quintet. Through Attilio Tommaso had the pleasure of meeting and playing together in Milano also with Di Toro and Bradascio and after a few successful concerts and a growing chemistry amongst the band members the group was formed.
The recording 'Tommaso Starace Quartet - Don't Forget' is the result on a one year collaboration with the band and their first recording which took place in 2009.
Across the months each band member wrote new material to include in the concerts and the CD; the end result is a recording that already has a distinctive sound emphasized by swing, groove, and lyrical tunes.
The band's repertoire stretches from rearranged and less known standards to original compositions in odd time signatures to arrangements of compositions by living composers and musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Ennio Morricone.
The Quartet shares a love for the French pianist Michel Petrucciani and after a few very enjoyable concerts performing some of his tunes they decided to dedicate an album to him:
'Celebrating the Music of Michel Petrucciani' is a collection of 10 of the most renown compositions of Petrucciani and was recorded in August 2011.
Two exceptional guests are featured on the CD: trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso and vibraphonist Roger Beaujolais. The CD is proudly distributed on the Universal/EmArcy Label.
My love for cinema and black and white photography brings me back to record a second 'jazz image' related project this time with my Italian colleagues and dedicated to the images of Italian Master of photography Gianni Berengo Gardin: 'Italian Short Stories'.
13 original compositions and an arrangement of the 'Adagio Assai' second movement, from the Ravel piano Concerto in G Major, accompany the 14 evocative images of Berengo Gardin.
This is a tribute to my country and some of my favourite cities and I worked very hard on creating strong cinematic melodies inspired from composers of the likes of Ennio Morricone or Italian singer songwriter Fabio Concato.
The Quartet has performed in many Jazz Clubs and Festivals around Italy and has been praised by critics and audiences for their energy and technical skills. Some of the venues/festivals include:
Two sold out concerts at The Blue Note - Milano, Providencia International Jazz festival Santiago del Chile, Nuoro Jazz Festival, Jazz Vision - Saluzzo, MITO Settembre Festival, Luzern Jazz Club, Chur Jazz Club, La Salumeria della Musica, Le Scimmie, Biella- Piacenza- Art Blakey-Torino Jazz Clubs, London Jazz Festival, Brianza Open Jazz Festival, Biella Jazz Festival, Avezzano Jazz Festival and many more.
