ARTISTIC DIRECTORS / TUTORS

Iñaki Askunze
Graduated in Saxophone from the San Sebastián Conservatory with honorable mention, Iñaki Askunze teaches harmony, arrangement, composition and Big band at the Jazz Department of the Superior Conservatory of the Basque Country ("Musikene") and at the Superior Conservatory of Navarre (CSMN).
Graduated in Saxophone from the San Sebastián Conservatory with honorable mention, Iñaki Askunze teaches harmony, arrangement, composition and Big band at the Jazz Department of the Superior Conservatory of the Basque Country ("Musikene") and at the Superior Conservatory of Navarre (CSMN).
Graduated in Saxophone from the San Sebastián Conservatory with honorable mention, Iñaki Askunze teaches harmony, arrangement, composition and Big band at the Jazz Department of the Superior Conservatory of the Basque Country ("Musikene") and at the Superior Conservatory of Navarre (CSMN).
Graduated in Saxophone from the San Sebastián Conservatory with honorable mention, Iñaki Askunze teaches harmony, arrangement, composition and Big band at the Jazz Department of the Superior Conservatory of the Basque Country ("Musikene") and at the Superior Conservatory of Navarre (CSMN).
Today he also directs the Pirineos Jazz Orquestra and has recorded a cd with Randy Brecker as a special guest. This formation carried out a jazz-flamenco project for Big Band with Chano Domínguez as special guest.
Today he also directs the Pirineos Jazz Orquestra and has recorded a cd with Randy Brecker as a special guest. This formation carried out a jazz-flamenco project for Big Band with Chano Domínguez as special guest.
Askunze also obtained the second place prize at the "Competition for composition and arrangement for Big Band" organized by the cultural association Ool-Ya-Koo and the SGAE Foundation in Granada.

Antonio Solimene
Arranger, conductor, teacher. She is the coordinator of the Jazz Arrangement and Ear Training courses at Saint Louis College of Music, where she is also a member of the Academic Council and of the evaluation team and represents her in the meetings of the AEC (European Association of Conservatories), during the meetings for the PJP (Jazz and Pop Platform).
Together with the teaching activity he carries out that of conductor. Since 2008 he has been director of the orchestral formations - Big Band and Combo - of Saint Louis. Since 1993 he has directed the TMJB with which he has performed in numerous concerts both in Italy (Perugia, "Umbria Jazz", from 2003 to 2013), and abroad (Paris, "Le Petit Journal"; New York, "Teatro dell 'UN "). He conducted the Mediaset rhythmic-symphonic orchestra for Sony Music and the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra.
He has made several CDs, among the most representative:

• “Eneiro”, as composer and pianist for Ricordi;
• “Napoli standard”, “Notes authorized”, “Piedigrotta and surroundings”, as director and arranger for TMJB published by Music for Music;
• “Live in the studio” with the Saint Louis Big Band for the “Jazz Collection” series.

He has collaborated with many musicians, including: Stephane Grappelli, Lew Soloff, Gorge Masso, Maxime Saury, Paolo Fresu, Lucio Dalla, Stefano Bollani, Maria Pia De Vito, Pietro Condorelli, Rosario Giuliani, Javier Girotto, Daniele Scannapieco, Marcello Rosa.

Richard De Rosa
Composer, arranger, conductor and teacher. Richard De Rosa, nominated for the Grammy Awards, is currently director of Jazz Composition and Arrangement at North Texas University and is the artistic director of the American Jazz Venues (AJV). From 2012 to 2016 he conducted and arranged for the prestigious WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany.
During his prolific career, his compositions and arrangements have embraced a wide variety of writing styles and have been heard on stages around the world, on television and in film, on Broadway, in video, audiobooks and numerous albums. "Neil", his original work for Big Band, earned a 2016 Grammy nomination for "Best Instrumental Composition" and is included in Lab 2015, recorded by the One O'Clock Lab Band.

Gianluigi Giannatempo
Awarded in various Jazz Composition and Arrangement competitions (Barga Jazz, Scrivere in Jazz in Sassari, Euro Jazz Writing Contest in Paris, Roccella Ionica, scholarship from the Manhattan School of Music in New York) he composed and arranged for symphony orchestras, quartets strings, Jazz Orchestra, choirs, string orchestras, brass quintets….
His pieces have been performed in Italy, France, China, United States, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, England by ensembles such as: the Sardinian Jazz Orchestra with Paolo Fresu, Javier Girotto, Cinzia Tedesco; the Veneto Jazz Festival Orchestra with John Mosca, Dick Oatts, Cecil Bridgewater; The Euro Jazz Big Band of Paris; the Chicago Jazz ensemble, the Western Illinois University Big Band, the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra with Dee Dee Bridgewater; the Big Band of the Superior Conservatory of Music of La Coruna (Spain) with Rosario Giuliani; the Rhythm-Symphony Orchestra of São Paulo in Brazil; the Symphony Orchestra of the Province of Bari; the Symphony Orchestra of Magna Grecia; the Colors Jazz Orchestra conducted by Massimo Morganti; the Solstice String Quartet (London); the Exit Orchestra conducted by Marco Tiso; the Italian Big Band; the Apulian Orchestra with Paolo Fresu; the Attem sax quartet; the Saint Louis Big Band; the Pessoa quartet; the Iatalsax quartet; the Forma Jazz Orchestra with Dee Dee Bridgewater and others.
He has various recordings to his credit as a composer and arranger; he edited, among others, the arrangements of: Nahuel (ed. Manifesto) of

Javier Girotto and Vertere String Quartet, presented, among others, at the Villa Celimontana Festival, Atina Jazz, the Auditorium Parco della Musica, the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, the Le Streets of Jazz festival in Bologna and on Radio3 Rai.
Some pieces of this project were performed by Federico Mondelci with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, in Munich with the Symphony Orchestra of Padua and Veneto and at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall.
Besides - Songs from the Sixties (Schema Records) by Gaetano Partipilo with: Pietro Lussu, Alice Ricciardi, Rosalia De Souza, Fabrizio Bosso, Heidi Vogel and archi.
OJS plays the Music of James Taylor, of the Sardinia Jazz Orchestra with the Belgian singer and composer David Linx.
Some pieces of this work were performed in 2014 at the Center for the Performing Arts in Vancouver by the A Band directed by Brad Turner.
He returns to collaborate with the Argentine saxophonist Javier Girotto, taking care of the arrangements of Musica Argentina para Big Band (ed. Parco della Musica Records), presented at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, at the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, at the North Sea Jazz Festival, at Cordoba International Jazz Festival.
He is among the arrangers of the Villa Celimontana Jazz Orchestra, an ensemble that closed the 2009 edition of the homonymous Festival, with a project dedicated to the music of Zawinul.
In May 2010, the Western Illinois University Orchestra performed his music at Carnegie Hall in New York.
His other participations as composer and arranger include: Umbria Jazz, Villa Celimontana, Atina Jazz, Bergamo Jazz, Academic Hall of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, Petruzzelli Theater in Bari.
His compositions and arrangements were performed at the Casa del Jazz with Daniele Tittarelli and, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, as part of the Web night broadcast by Assante and Castaldo with Stefano Di Battista, by NTJO directed by Mario Corvini.
He is invited to arrange a suite by Paolo Fresu for the Conservatori Jazz Orchestra, performed at the Puccini Theater in Florence, in Brussels on the occasion of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, at the Piccolo Teatro Strehler, at Umbria Jazz, at Nantes Jazz Festival, in L'Aquila as part of the Italian Jazz Day for L'Aquila, at the Eliseo Theater in Rome.
In 2012, he takes care of the orchestral arrangements of a Gino Paoli concert.
His pieces have been performed by the Big Bands of the conservatories of: Adria, Rovigo, Pescara, Rome and by the saxophone ensemble of the Bari conservatory.
He attended the Siena Jazz high-level specialization course in composition and arrangement under the guidance of Giancarlo Gazzani, of whom he later became assistant.
He studied in the United States, attending the Postgraduate Diploma in Jazz Composition at the Manhattan School of Music in New York where he had the opportunity to study, among others, with: Richard DeRosa,, Chris Rosemberg, Joan Stiles, Elias Tanenbaum , Ludmila Ulehla.

ORCHESTRAS

CSNM Big Band
Group created in 2005 as an ensemble subject for students of the Jazz department. It brings together students who stand out in the different instruments related to this style: trumpets, trombones, saxophones, guitar, piano, double bass, bass, drums and vocals.

Since its inception it has performed concerts at the Civibox and Civican in Pamplona, ​​participated in the UPNA Jazz Festival, in the "Jazz on the street" cycle with Bob Sands, accompanied trombonist Marshall Gilkes, singers Sabine Kuehlich, Elisabetta Antonini and Deborah Carter, percussionist Ron Van Stratum, flutist Jorge Pardo, trumpeter Kurt Weiss, pianist Iñigo Ruiz de Gordejuela, composer Jere Laukkanen, etc.

He has also held charity concerts and various performances in the "Houses of Culture" and at the Conservatory Auditorium, and has made 27 recordings, available on You tube.

The Big Band's classical repertoire consists of standard arrangements and original compositions specifically created for the group by its Director Iñaki Askunze, Professor of Arrangement, Composition and Big Band at the Center.

TRAINING:

SAX – Angela Irañeta (flute); Jon Ander Chirps (clarinet); Aritz Ostolaza (soprano); Charles Lazarus, Edward Grandson (top); Jose Angel Lorente, Roman Degtiarev, Aitor Zorzano (tenor), Guillermo Gomez (baritone)
TRUMPET: Willington Eliecer, Albert Sanzol, St. Peter's Gaizka, Julen Arbizu
TROMBONY: Alvaro Jarauta, Andrew's Elm, Garazi Petrirena, Aitor Wall, Luis Cordon
PIANO: Bernardo San Martin, Nerea Arrieta
CHITARRA: Sergio Rodríguez Romanos, Kiko García de la Mata
CONTRABASSO: Fran Serrano
BATTERIA: Xabi Astráin, Ramón García de la Mata

Saint Louis Big Band
It fully respects the classic structure of the big band, namely: 4 Trumpets, 5 Saxes, Trombones, Rhythm Section, 6 backing singers.
The formation, born in September 2007, has to its credit the participation in many prestigious jazz festivals such as Villa Celimontana Jazz, Atina Jazz, Brindisi in Jazz, Nick La Rocca Jazz Festival, and numerous collaborations with internationally renowned artists, such as Kurt Elling, Peppe Servillo, Gegè Telesforo, Rosario Giuliani, Daniele Scannapieco, Marcello Rosa. Javier Girotto has chosen the Saint Louis Big Band to perform and record the songs of his project “Escenas en Big Band”.

Three O’ clock Lab Band
The Three o’clock Lab Band is a large jazz ensemble which includes five saxes, five trumpets, five trombones, guitar, piano, bass, drums and percussion players. The band holds rehearsals Monday through Thursday from 3:00 pm to 3:50 pm. The director of the Three o’clock Lab Band is Tanya Darby.

Javier Girotto
Javier Edgardo Girotto - Argentine saxophonist, composer and arranger. Born in Córdoba in Argentina from a family of Apulian origin on the maternal side and Venetian from the paternal one, he began his business in 1980 and then moved to Italy in 1991. Here in 1994 he formed the Aires Tango (together with Marco Siniscalco on double bass, Alessandro Gwiss on piano and Michele Rabbia on percussion), with whom he makes many tours throughout the peninsula, recording 10 albums; in the same period he also gives life to some parallel projects with other musicians.

He has collaborations with: Rita Marcotulli, Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu, Gianluca Petrella, Bebo Ferra, Antonello Salis, Gianni Coscia, Peppe Servillo, Angà Diaz, Furio Di Castri, Tony Scott, Arto Tuncbovacivan, Michel Benità, Carlo Rizzo, Aldo Romano, Luis Agudo Maurizio Gianmarco, Stefano Battaglia, Michel Godard, Anouar Brahem, Gianluigi Trovesi and many others.

COMPOSERS / ARRANGIATORS

Gabriele Ceccarelli
Born in 1993, he studied piano, composition and jazz arrangement at Saint Louis College of Music. Even with a background strongly rooted in tradition, with genuine curiosity he turns his gaze to the most disparate musical worlds, from folk to ancient music. His works are a euphoric, optimistic and protean representation of daily suggestions, introspective and retrospective visions, in an incessant and confidential narrative flow.

Salvatore Di Piazza
Salvatore Di Piazza, ecclectic guitarist, born in 1988, boasts numerous collaborations with artists such as Alex Britti, Francesco Tricarico, Gatto Panceri, and Nikolas Metaxas.
In addition to teaching, live and studio activities, he is currently engaged in the creation of his first solo album and the conclusion of composition and arrangement studies at the Saint Louis College of Music in Rome.

Filippo Minisola
Born in 1991, graduated with honors at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Music in Jazz piano in 2016. He is currently continuing his studies at the Saint Louis College of Music at the Biennium of Jazz Arrangement and Composition. The love for composition arises from the early years of study and is contaminated by the most diverse musical matrices, ancient and modern, folkloric and cultured, with a particular, primal attention paid to lyricism and songwriting.

Milena Nigro
"She graduated in jazz singing at the Saint Louis College of Music in Rome, where she deepens the study of jazz arrangement for orchestra and choir with great passion. Her innate curiosity about her led her to look beyond the traditional language of jazz, exploring the Italian jazz tradition, with a work on Armando Trovajoli and deepening the study of European jazz, of which she suffers the charm and influence. Over the years she has developed her own personal style, the result of an incessant research work.
In 2014 she was the winner of the International Competition of Arrangement and Composition for Jazz Orchestra “Bargajazz” for Section “C”.

Since 2014 he has been directing and writing arrangements for the “Saint Louis Voices Section”, vocal section of the “Saint Louis big band”, directed by Maestro Antonio Solimene. He has written arrangements for various jazz orchestras both in Italy and abroad, collaborating with many artists such as Javier Girotto, Peppe Servillo, Gegè Telesforo, Nina Pedersen.

He collaborated in 2016 with Midimusic for the “Finale in jazz” project, creating new libraries for jazz for the Italian version of the “Finale” software.
He is currently a lecturer at the Saint Louis College of Music, where he teaches jazz singing, jazz harmony and arrangement, musical word processing ".

Riccardo Garcia Rubi
Riccardo Garcia Rubi was born in Rome in 1994. He approaches music at an early age, at the age of seven he begins studying the clarinet and then moves on to the guitar. In 2013 he obtained the "Edexcel National Diploma, Bachelor of Art in Contemporary Pop Music" at the Music Academy of Rome, in 2016 the "Bachelor's degree in jazz guitar at the Conservatory of Music Santa Cecilia Rome" (grade 30/30) and was currently enrolled in the second level two-year course in “Jazz Composition and Arrangement” at the Saint Louis College of Music. Versatile guitarist specializing in flamenco guitar, he works with various dance companies performing in various theaters both in Italy and abroad. He is often also the author of the music for the aforementioned shows. In the field of pop music he has been collaborating for years with the singer-songwriter Marco Greco (with whom he also recorded his first album "Live in the studio"). He has always accompanied his studies and work as a teacher at various private music schools in the capital.

Alessio Sacco
Born in 1990. Fascinated by different musical genres, from Prog to Blues, from Eurocolto to Rock, he graduated in pop guitar at the Saint Louis College of Music, where he has the good fortune to approach jazz and to deepen it. During those years the love for composition and arrangement was born, always linked by a double thread by a fundamental element: cantability.

For more information contact: marzia@slmc.it