L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 2 between musicians and bands of all ages. "L'Aquila needs more than the reconstruction, it needs t o e n j o y i t s h i s t o r i c c e n t e r a g a i n , " h e c o m m e n t e d . B u t besides solidarity, it will also r e p r e s e n t a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d occasion to promote Italian jazz, which has grown exponentially over the last few years, in the eyes of the world. A r t i s t i c d i r e c t o r o f t h e marathon is Paolo Fresu, one of I t a l y ' s m o s t c e l e b r a t e d a n d internationally recognized jazz artists, who has recently also opened the 28 th edition of the B e r c h i d d a J a z z F e s t i v a l b y playing on board of a Meridiana f l i g h t f r o m B o l o g n a t o h i s native Sardinia. Maestro Fresu, can you tell us more about this original jazz marathon? W h e n M i n i s t e r D a r i o F r a n c e s c h i n i c a l l e d m e t o e x p l a i n h i s n e w p r o j e c t - a series of jazz concerts to bring L'Aquila's city center back to l i f e , - h e p r o b a b l y c o u l d n ' t image how big the event would become. With 100 performances i n 1 2 h o u r s , i t w i l l b e a n overview of the contemporary Italian jazz scene. I have invited n o t o n l y s o m e o f t h e b e s t m u s i c i a n s b u t a l s o representatives of different jazz g r o u p s , f r o m o r c h e s t r a s t o music schools. All of them have accepted with enthusiasm to play for charity, showing the big heart of jazz. Unfortunately, due to space and time limits, m a n y a r t i s t s c o u l d n ' t b e included, despite the quality of their work and their desire to participate. This marathon will allow us to show what Italian jazz is capable of, benefiting for t h e f i r s t t i m e e v e r f r o m t h e s u p p o r t o f t h e I t a l i a n Institutions, which finally came to see that jazz music is now part of our Country's cultural heritage. How did you become a jazz musician? Being raised in a Sardinian f a m i l y o f s h e p h e r d s a n d peasants, I didn't have access to music records as a kid and so discovered jazz accidentally by Continued from page 1 Paolo Fresu 2011. Photo credit Jean-Louis Neveu listening to the radio. I joined the local marching band at the a g e o f 1 1 , a n d t h e n s t a r t e d playing pop music at weddings and ballrooms, until a wealthier friend made me listen to his collection. I was so introduced to Miles Davis and other big names, becoming immediately fond of that music genre. As m a n y f e l l o w m u s i c i a n s , I formed my first band and we used to play in the basement. In 1980, I attended a seminar at the Jazz Academy in Siena and my career speeded up. In 1982, I h a d a l r e a d y b e c o m e a professional, and three years later I was asked to teach a few courses at that same school. You have been traveling and performing all around the world, but has your Sardinian background influenced your music? Sardinia is my home region and a place dear to my heart, w h o s e c u l t u r a l d i v e r s i t y h a s allowed me to export my music abroad. I'm often referred to as " t h e S a r d i n i a n ( r a t h e r t h a n I t a l i a n ) t r u m p e t e r , " a n d I appreciate my land's diversity. In our globalized world, I think it adds value to my music. W h i c h o f y o u r r e c o r d s would you recommend as a first approach to your music? Throughout the years I've been working on many different t h i n g s , f r o m t r a d i t i o n a l a n d a c o u s t i c t o e l e c t r o n i c a n d classical projects, so it's not easy to pick only one album to represent me. Also, I've carried them on for a very long time: in 2 0 1 1 , I c e l e b r a t e d m y 5 0 t h birthday with 50 concerts in 50 days, each of them featuring one of my current projects. I was lucky enough to work with a number of great artists, but most of those collaborations have developed spontaneously after f o r t u n a t e e n c o u n t e r s o r occasions. If I have to make a selection though, I'd probably suggest an old record entitled Ossi di Seppia (1991). I did it with my quintet; we've been playing together for the last 32 years now.

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