Antonio Ciacca
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Antonio Ciacca
- Genres: Jazz
Biography
With his imaginative piano playing, Antonio Ciacca has made his presence felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Born in Germany and raised in Italy, Ciacca has accompanied such stellar jazz musicians as Steve Lacy, Craig Bailey, Benny Golson, Art Farmer and Lee Konitz. The founder and music director of the Detroit Gospel Singers, Ciacca performed a twenty city tour of Europe, with the group, in December 2000. He previously toured Europe with the Larry Smith Quartet, in 1995 and 1996, and with Joe Henderson and Steve Lacy in 1999. He performed in Japan with the Eiji Nakayama Quartet in 1998. Playing piano since the age of seven, Ciacca's teachers included Steve Grossman, Kenny Barron, Marcus Bellgrave and Barry Harris. He dedicated his 1998 album, Hollis Avenue, to Jaki Byard, with whom he studied in 1998 and 1999. Ciacca holds a masters in Afro-American musicology from the University of Bologna. Ciacca continues to play a strong role in the evolution of European jazz. The founder of C-Jam Music, a non-profit, Italy-based, organization dedicated to the promotion of world music, he organized and served as music director of the Appennino Music Festival in 2001. ~ Craig Harris, RoviWikipedia on Answers.com:
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Antonio Ciacca
| Antonio Ciacca | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Antonio Ciacca |
| Genres | Mainstream jazz, hard bop, post bop, Bebop |
| Occupations | Pianist, composer, bandleader |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Labels | Motéma Music |
| Associated acts | Jazz at Lincoln Center |
| Website | www.antoniociacca.com |
Antonio Ciacca is an Italian-American jazz pianist, Instructor at the Juilliard School, and Director of Programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
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Biography
Born in Germany in 1969, raised in Italy and educated in the United States, pianist, composer, and arts-presenter Antonio Ciacca began his career in jazz as a sideman for Art Farmer, James Moody, Lee Konitz, Jonny Griffin, Mark Murphy, Dave Liebman, and Steve Grossman. Grossman’s influence in particular— with whom Ciacca studied for three years—proved an important inspiration for Ciacca’s own style. In 1993, Ciacca moved to Detroit to study at Wayne State University with Kenny Barron, after which he studied privately with Jackie Byard in New York. Whilst living in Detroit, he was first exposed to gospel music, an influence he soon integrated it into his own developing style as a composer and performer; Ciacca eventually went on to produce a CD for the Detroit Gospel Singers.
1997 proved a key year for Ciacca, as saxophonist Steve Lacy invited Ciacca to join his quartet in a collaboration that would last for seven years. The same year, Antonio Ciacca met Wynton Marsalis, who would later become Ciacca’s colleague at Jazz at Lincoln Center, while Marsalis was performing in Italy with Elvin Jones. The following year, Ciacca began performing with saxophonist Benny Golson, who would continue to be a collaborator in Ciacca’s career.
In 2007, Antonio Ciacca entered arts administration in the United States and assumed the role of Director of Programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center, working alongside Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis. In 2009, Ciacca’s also began teaching “Business of Jazz” at the Juilliard School of Music.
Discography
As leader
- Driemoty (1997)
- Hollis Avenue (1998)
- Autumn in New York (2002)
- Live in Mosciano S.Angelo Featuring Benny Golson (2004)
- Rush Life (Motéma Music, 2008)
- Lagos Blues (Motéma, 2010)
As sideman
- Larry Smith & Co Live at the Slovak Phihlarmonic (1996)
- Larry Smith Quartet Estate (1998)
- Detroit Gospel Singers Gospel Jubilee (2000)
- Craig Bailey Sextet Brooklyn (2001)
- Various Artists Gubbio No Border Festival (2004)
- Dario Mazzucco Light Lunch (2008)
- Lucio Ferrara Quintet Featuring Lee Konitz & Antonio Ciacca It's All Right with Me (2009)
- Stefania Tchantret Quintet Love For Sale (2010)
External links
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