Francesco Cafiso

Francesco Cafiso (* 24. May 1989 in Vittoria ) is an Italian jazz - saxophonist .

Live and act

Francesco Cafiso

Cafiso attended the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory in Catania , Sicily, where he studied flute and piano. As a “child prodigy” of jazz, he played with musicians like Bob Mintzer and George Gruntz at the age of nine , later with Joe Lovano , Manhattan Transfer , Reggie Johnson , Hank Jones , Wynton Marsalis and his Lincoln Center Orchestra. He met Marsalis at the Pescara Festival in 2002 and accompanied him on his European tour in 2003. Cafiso played at the North Sea Jazz Festival , the Jazz Fest Vienna and often at the Umbria Jazz Festival . He leads his own quartet (Riccardo Arrighini, Aldo Zunini, Stefano Bagnoli ). In 2001 he presented his first album, Very early, with the pianist Stefano Bollani for Philology . In 2004 Concerto for Petrucciani (Philology) appeared in a trio with Riccardo Arrighini, in 2005 Tribute to Charlie Parker (Umbria Jazz Records) and New York Lullaby (with Venus). On January 19, 2009, he played in Washington, DC during celebrations in honor of President Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr.'s Day.

Awards

In 2001 he received the Massimo Urbani Prize, which is awarded in memory of the alto saxophonist of the same name (1957–1993), and in 2003 the “Positano Jazz” prize. In 2004 he received the Jazz Festivals Organization Award in New York. In 2005 he received the Django d'Or (Italy) as "New Talent".

Web links

• Biography in Italian