On Saturday 3 February, the first of the three finals of the Competition for young Italian Jazz talents combined with the Piacenza Jazz Fest will be held at Milestone.
It's time for the finals of the three sections into which the National Competition for Young Talents of Italian Jazz "Chicco Bettinardi" is divided. This year the Competition reaches the finish line of its 21st edition, as does the Piacenza Jazz Fest to which it has always been linked, thanks to the unfailing support of the Piacenza and Vigevano Foundation as well as the contribution of Yamaha Music Europe GmbH - Branch Italy.
The first part of the work related to the Competition takes place behind closed doors, through a careful selection of the demos that reach the Jury. This year's work was particularly demanding, given the numbers and the decidedly high quality of the proposals received.
The selection for the historic category of Bettinardi, that of soloists, has led to the choice of the names of five musicians who will perform on Saturday 3 February at 21.30 pm at the Milestone Live Club during the first of the finals scheduled with free admission with a Piacenza Jazz Club card (which can also be done at the entrance that evening).
During the evening, each of the five selected will play three songs and will be accompanied on stage by an exceptional rhythm section, who is also a member of the jury: Andrea Pozza on piano, Attilio Zanchi on double bass (who is also President) and Massimo Manzi on drums. The jury, which will meet at the end of the various performances to decree the first and second place, is also composed of the musician and teacher of the Milestone School of Music Giovanni Guerretti, the journalist Fabio Bianchi of the daily newspaper “Libertà”, the director of “Musica Jazz” Luca Conti and the expert of African-American music and teacher Giuseppe “Jody” Borea.
This year's finalists all have a brilliant resume, in addition to having many years of music behind them despite their young age. In strict alphabetical order, the first comes from Benevento and is a saxophonist named Federico Califano. He is currently part of the National Jazz Orchestra, Michele Corcella's Jazz Band and the sextet The Moonshiners, he has already had the opportunity to play in national and international jazz contexts of absolute value.
The second finalist is called Aberto Di Leone and comes from Bari. Graduated in trumpet at the Conservatory of Bari, he improved himself at Siena Jazz and started a career that sees him part of various jazz groups, such as the Pocket Orchestra, with which he plays in clubs and festivals, but he has also performed with big bands and in an orchestra context as a young soloist.
Born in Verbania but raised in Mergozzo, in the province of Vicenza, is the pianist Simone Locarni who graduated from the Conservatory Verdi in Milan and then moved on to Jazz. He has already performed at the main Italian jazz festivals together with Bebo Ferra, Yuri Goloubev, Michele Gori, Fabrizio Sferra, Hector Costita and John B. Arnold, two albums as a soloist and numerous awards and certificates as a young talent.
From Genoa comes the guitarist Simone Magioncalda, special features more than young, very young, given that he was born in 2006, as well as very talented, given that he has already performed in the clubs of his city with well-known musicians of the Genoese jazz scene, such as Dino Cerruti and Rodolfo Cervetto.
The last finalist of the soloists section is the saxophonist Attilio Sepe from Nola, in the province of Naples. Winner in 2021 of the “Giovani Visionari” award assigned to him by the National Federation “Il Jazz italiano”, he already has several albums under his belt including one as a soloist and one with his group “Parking Attendants”.
The winner will receive a check for 1.200 euros in addition to a fee for the Piacenza Jazz Fest the following year, while the second place winner will receive a check for 600 euros.
In the main program, next to the big names who have already made their way in the world of music, there have always been the winners of the previous edition of the Competition. Their common characteristic is that of being young talented musicians and extraordinarily good from the technical point of view, who must find the opportunity to test themselves in front of the public and critics and build those experiences that will lead them to be the acclaimed artists of tomorrow.
The Competition will continue with a final every Saturday: Saturday 10 February will be the turn of the Groups section and Saturday 17 February that of the Singers.
Article published on 29 January 2024 - 18:48
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