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Giovanni Falzone

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  Giovanni Falzone was born on May 22nd, 1974. He began playing the trumpet at the Municipal Band School of Music in Aragona, in the province of Agrigento, Sicily when he was 17. He then enrolled in the V. Bellini Conservatory in Palermo, where he graduated in a short time under the tutelage of G. Ciavarello. In addition, he graduated, with the highest honors, from the Jazz Studies Program (arranging, historical-formal analysis, and improvisation) at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan. He won first prize as "Best Talent at Umbria Jazz, 2000", earning a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music, in Boston. He also participated as a soloist in a workshop/concert held by Wynton Marsalis at the Morlacchi Theater in Perugia, and in a modern-jazz seminar held by saxophonist Dave Liebman. He has attended the following jazz seminars: Umbria Jazz Clinics, Siena Jazz, and Nuoro Jazz. While still studying, he began to collaborate with orchestras and chamber groups in Sicily, and to attend master classes with world famous teachers. After graduating from the conservatory studies, he filled the chair of first trumpet with the following orchestras: l'Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, il Teatro Lirico di Spoleto, l'Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, l'Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, il Teatro G. Verdi di Trieste, il Teatro Comunale di Bologna, l'Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano G. Verdi, and l'Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia. Since 1996, he has played under the direction of world famous conductors and soloists such as Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado, Carlo Maria Giulini, Riccardo Chailly, Yutaka Sado, Luciano Berio, Vladimir Jurowski, Valere Giergev, Salvatore Accardo, Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. In October of 2002 he toured with the Milan Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Riccardo Chailly, in France, Spain, Switzerland and Portugal. Together with his work in classical music, he has played jazz with a number of Sicilian groups. He was a part of the "Orchestre senza confine" (Orchestras Without Borders) Project - a collaborative effort of the Civico Jazz Band of Milan and the G. Verdi Symphonic Orchestra of Milan that included such soloists as Bobby Watson, Bob Brookmeyer, Markus Stockausen, Max Roach, Kenny Barron, Enrico Pieranunzi, Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu and Giorgio Gaslini. He has played at "Centre des Arts Pluriels" in Luxembourg with Claudio Fasoli and Marc Mangen; and was also the only Italian selected, in France, for the European Jazz Big Band Project conducted by David Murray. He has played in the following clubs: Capolinea, Scimmie, Nord-Est Caffè, Ittolitos Jazz Club Rapsodia Cafè, Caffè del Ventaglio, Enoteca Rabelais (Milan), Cantina Bentivoglio (Bologna), Paprika (Bergamo), "Euro Jazz Club" (Catania), Malox (Palermo) Sullivans Pub (Perugia), Il Circolo (Como). He has played the following festivals: Umbria Jazz Winter 2000, "Villette Jazz Festival" 2001 in Paris, Free Milano Jazz Nights 2002, Italian Jazz Rebels 2002 in Bologna, Bocconi Festival 2002, Spoleto Jazz 2002 (as part of the "Festival of the Two Worlds"), Clusone Jazz 2002, Licata Jazz Festival 2002, AH-UM Jazz Festival 2002 in Milan. He has performed in the following theaters: the "Teatro Lirico" in Milan, the "Teatro Comunale" in Bologna, the "Teatro G. Verdi" in Trieste, the "Teatro Comunale" in Piacenza, the "Teatro Lirico" in Spoleto, the "Teatro Morlacchi" in Perugia, the "Teatro Comunale" in Modena, the "Teatro Comunale" in Reggio Emilia, the "Teatro V. Bellini" in Catania, the Auditorium of Milan, the Auditorium of Madrid, the Auditorium of Toulouse, the Auditorium of Lisbon, the Auditorium of Barcelona, the Auditorium of Murcia, the Auditorium of Munich, the Auditorium of Montreux. He has played live radio-concerts for "Radio Popolare" and "Radio Rai Tre" for the radio program "Jazz Club" conducted by Carlo Boccadoro. Selections from his record "Music for Five" have been played on nationally broadcast radio programs conducted by Pino Saulo, Marcello Lorrai, Alessandro Achilli and others.

He has recorded as a sideman on the following records: · Massimo Colombo - "World Ensemble" · Felice Clemente Quintet - "Way Out Sud" · Guido Bombardieri - "Pensieri Africani" Having dedicated himself for some time to composition, in 2000 he founded a group which has since played at a number of festivals; and in 2002, he recorded "Music for Five" for the Italian "Splasc(h)" label. "Music for Five" has garnered rave reviews in a number of national and international magazines. The French magazine "Jazzman" voted "Music for Five" as one of May, 2000's best recordings, giving it a four-star rating. It also received a four-star rating from the American "All Music Guide to Jazz". Other reviews have appeared in the following publications: Musica Jazz, Jazz Review, Jazz@Round, Ritmo, Giornale Della Musica, All About Jazz, and Blackinradio. He took third place in the annual "Musica Jazz" Critics Poll for 2002 in the "Best New Talent" category. For three years now his compositions have been performed regularly by the Milan Symphony Orchestra in its "Concerti da Camera" concert series: · 2000-2001 season: Giovanni Falzone Quartet & String Quintet of the Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan · 2001-2002 season: "In Good Faith Suite" for Trumpet, Vibraphone, Marimba and Percussion · 2002-2003 season: "Suite Contemporanea Per Tromba, Gruppo Jazz E Piccola Orchestra". Chamber Ensemble of the Milan Symphony Orchestra
In November 2002, he signed a record contract with the prestigious Italian label "Soul Note" for whom he will record a new CD with his group "Contemporary Ensemble" in January 2003.

In February 2003, he and his new group performed in the "Avant.Jazz" concert series at the "Teatro San Lazzaro" in Bologna. Giovanni Falzone currently teaches courses in "Improvisation and Jazz Pronunciation for Wind Instruments", and plays regularly with the Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan, alternating his work in classical music with work in the jazz field.

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