FRANCESCO GUAIANA TRIO: Nojaz

Francesco Guaiana Trio

Nojaz

© 2002 Francesco Guaiana (634479168024)

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A mixture of contemporary jazz, improvisation and traditional melodies

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Francesco Guaiana's Bio

Born in Palermo, Italy, he became interested in music at the age of 9, his sister was a classical pianoplayer so he was always listening music since she used to practice everyday. During high school he started playing piano and guitar by ear, and also put together an etnojazz band playing in clubs and bars in his hometown. After high school he attended the Musica Insieme Music School for 3 years and studied several things such as harmony, ear training, arranging, he also took classical guitar lessons for 4 years and earned the Diploma of Theory and Solfege at the Conservatory "V.Bellini" in Palermo. Between 1992 and 1995 he attended the University of Philosophy in Palermo focusing in ehtnomusicology and arts . He played several gigs with many bands, and also was a faculty member of his former music school for one year. Between 1994 and 1997 he was invited to several Jazz Festivals such as: Palermo di scena 1995, San Vito Jazz 1995, Rome Festival Delle Scuole 1997. In May 1996 he was part of the Concert for 100 guitars, a composition written by the american composer Rhys Chatam and performed in Palermo at Teatro Verdura. He attended many workshops such as: Umbria Jazz 1996, Siena Jazz 1997; in 1997 he was student of Gunther Shuller's School for Jazz Conductor in Palermo and, under his direction, he performed three suites written by Duke Ellington with the Brass Group Jazz Orchestra. Francesco also taught music for 3 months in an elementary school in Palermo and was a volunteer, helping poor children to get an education in life and arts.

In July 1998 he won a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music and moved to Boston. He has studied privately with guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mick Goodrick, Jon Damian,Bret Willmott,Jack Pezanelli. In the spring of 1999 he was invited to the North Carolina International Jazz Festival in Raleigh Durham, where he played with Paul Jeffrey,( the sax player who arranged many Charles Mingus and Thelonius Monk's scores). Since in the US he has performed abd studied with great artists such as: Gary Burton, Paul Jeffrey, Bob Moses, Dave Samuels, Jeff Galindo, Jon Damian.

Francesco often toured Italy with several bands, including alto player Gianni Gebbia, tenor player Paul Jeffrey, drummer Mimmo Cafiero, and with his trio feat. bass player Daniele Camarda and drummer Ferenc Nemeth, playing all over the country. After graduation he immediately was hired as staff accompanyst at the Berklee College, where he worked for the year 2002.
Since march 2002 he's a current member of the etno band "Tammorra" and has performed
and toured extensively in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. In july of 2002 his first CD titled "Nojaz" came out, produced by Italian composer Emanuele de Raymondi.
The cd, a mixture of improvised jazz and contemporary free approach, got excellent reviews by several jazz magazines like "jazzit" and www.allboutjazz.com. He's currently travelling back and forth between NYC and Europe promoting his music and sharing experiences with many artists of the music scene.
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  • Three virtuoso instrumentalists steering clear of old forms evolving the legacie
    author: Phil DiPietro

    Excerpted from: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=10506 The core reason that jazz isn't dead is the music, and maybe the reason that this music has no ingredients of whatever part of jazz that is dead can be found in the title - you see-”it's-a-nojaz!” Highly evolved, decidedly influence-free and fresh, compositionally astute, and for the most part, anti-chops - you can hear in the music that these guys have gone around the horn on “jazz” and decided that, after absorbing a great measure of its pedagogy, to revisit their Mediterranean, indigenous , folkloric roots to take improvisation, in their own way, beyond styles and idioms. Camarda posesses ultra-fluid technique, in classical, contrapuntal mode, with cleanliness and speed more measurable against an Eliot Fisk or a Vicente Amigo than a Jaco or a Steve Swallow. This revelation of more conventional virtuosity happens at various points of this set with all three players. I find it a vital element of the recording, providing a kind of proof that indeed, these guys are indisputably capable of playing on “regular” changes or forms, but refute them in favor of new territory. This kind of passing in and out of the “what we're used to” is a welcome device to ears stretched by the brand of outness offered herein; a brand, however far taken “out,” that always gets tied back to consonant melodic concepts. Guaiana's single-note lines highlight attack and decay values of the notes more than most players. The ears present the picture to the brain of the fingers squeezing off the strings on the fret board. We all need more stuff like this - stuff so reeking of the exuberance of creation and life that it makes you want to go create yourself. I think I just managed to restate the definition of inspiration - come to think of it, so has this band.

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