Battista Lena
Battista Lena (born June 8, 1960 in Viareggio ) is an Italian jazz guitarist who has also appeared as a composer of film music and large-format works.
Live and act
Lena began his career as a professional musician in 1980. Since 1985 he has performed with the drummer Roberto Gatto , with whom he has recorded five albums (partly with John Scofield ). From 1991 to 1996 he was a member of Enrico Rava's quartet and was involved in his album Rava l'opera va (1984). He also played on several European tours with Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen .
In 1997 he recorded nine compositions for his project Banda Sonora with 56 musicians from the Banda Buenaventura Somma de Chianciano Terme and a jazz sextet, which are conceived similar to the works of Nino Rota . The album received numerous positive reviews, for example from Jazzman magazine . A documentary about the project was shown at RAI 1999: La Strana Storia Di Banda Sonora .
In 2005 he wrote his I Cosmonauti Russi to poems by Marco Lodolli , which range between jazz, banda music, futurism and musically accompanied expressive poetry. This work was awarded the Harmony Orchestra of Amiens listed. He has also worked with Daniel Humair , Billy Cobham and Richard Galliano .
In 2008 the WDR Big Band Cologne recorded some of his compositions. He has also recorded with Gabriele Mirabassi , Enzo Pietropaoli . As at European festivals, he has also performed at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal and the major Chinese festivals.
Lena also appeared as a film composer. He has written numerous film scores especially for the Italian film director Francesca Archibugi , with whom he is married. As a guitarist and film composer, he has given several master classes, for example at the Strade del Cinema in Aosta .
Prizes and awards
His music for the feature film El día de la bestia de Álex de la Iglesia was nominated for the Premio Goya for best film music in 1996. His music for Ovosodo ( Paolo Virzì , 1997) received the Grand Jury Special Prize and a Little Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival .
Discographic notes
- Banda Sonora (with Enrico Rava , Gabriele Mirabassi , Gianni Coscia , Enzo Pietropaoli, Marcello Di Leonardo and others), Label Bleu, 1996
- Con Gli Occhi Chiusi , BMG, 1998
- Mille Corde (with Paolo Fresu , Gianni Coscia , Gabriele Mirabassi , Enzo Pietropaoli and a mandolin orchestra), Egea, 1999
- L'Albero Delle Pere , Cam, 1999
- Domani , Cam, 2001
- Il Cosmonauti Russi (with Gianmaria Testa , Maria Pia De Vito , Arthur H , Rokia Traoré , Enrico Rava, Gabriele Mirabassi, Luciano Biondini, Enzo Pietropaoli and others), Label Bleu, 2003
- Come Una Volta , Egea, 2004
- Battista Lena Plays , Via Veneto Jazz, VVJ-028, 2009
Filmography
- 1989: Mignon è partita
- 1991: At the end of the day (Verso sera)
- 1993: The great pumpkin (Il grande cocomero)
- 1994: Con gli occhi chiusi
- 1996: Ferie d'agosto
- 1996: El día de la bestia
- 1997: Ovosodo
- 1998: L'albero delle pere
- 1998: Il Guerriero Camillo
- 2001: Domani
- 2004: Gabbiani. Studio su 'Il gabbiano' di Anton Cechov (documentary film)
- 2007: Lezioni di volo
- 2009: A thing of the heart (Questione di cuore)
Web links
- Web presence
- Meeting Banda Sonora
- Meeting I Cosmonauti Russi
- Battista Lena in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lena, Battista |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian jazz musician and film composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 8, 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Viareggio |