Giovanni Tommaso

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giovanni Tommaso (born January 20, 1941 in Lucca ) is an Italian bassist , composer , arranger and band leader of modern jazz .

Tommaso had private music lessons; he began to perform in Lucca with his brother, a pianist. They formed the formation "Quartetto di Lucca", which was heavily influenced by the Modern Jazz Quartet and quickly became popular in Italy between 1957 and 1966. In 1967 Tommaso moved to Rome , where he a. a. starred with Johnny Griffin , Sonny Rollins , Chet Baker and Barney Kessel . In 1971 he formed the jazz rock group "Perigeo", with which he recorded six albums and made many tours, including to the USA. In 1977 Tommaso gave up the band and became a member of Enrico Rava's quartet , with whom he stayed until 1984. He then formed his own quintet with the alto saxophonist Massimo Urbani ("The Blessing", 1983). Tommaso has been running the Umbria Jazz Clinics since 1985 ; he also worked as a music teacher at the Conservatory of Perugia . In addition, Tommaso composed over a hundred hours of film music. In the 1980 / 1990s he played in Franco D'Andrea's band and recorded the albums "Kick Off" and "Airegin '" with him.

His influences include bassists like Scott LaFaro and Paul Chambers , but also musicians like Charlie Parker , Sonny Rollins , Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis .

The bass player Bruno Tommaso is his cousin.

Discographic notes

literature

personal data
SURNAME Tommaso, Giovanni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian bass player
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Lucca