Paolo Fresu

Paolo Fresu began studying the trumpet at the age of eleven while playing in his town band. After experience with pop music he discovered jazz in 1980 and began his professional career in 1982, first attending the Siena seminars and then recording for the RAI (Italian State Radio and Television) led by Bruno Tomaso. In 1994 he graduated in trumpet studies from the Conservatory of Cagliari (Sardinia) after studying under M. Enzo Morandini and attended the University of Musical and Performing Arts in Bologna . The same year he received numerous awards, among them: the Radio Uno Jazz'award from RAI, the Arrigo Polillo award from the Musica Jazz magazine, and in August 1995 the Radiocorriere TV prize .

Since then he has always been at the top in the Top Jazz polls and surveys both as best artist as well as group leader and recording artist (in 1990 elected the Best musician , Best group - Fresu Quintet - and Best record - called Live in Montpellier - of the year).
He has taught music in various schools and for years he has been actively involved in the didactic aspects of his art: Since 1985 he has been a professor at Siena Jazz National Seminars, since 1987 at the Jazz University courses at Terni . Since 1989 he has conducted the winter courses in Siena and seminars in Nuoro. In addition, he has conducted classes in various cities such as Pordenone , Bari , Matera , Pisa , Sassari , Bologna , Vicenza , Brescia , Boston (USA), Atlanta , Melbourne ( Australia ) and Beijin ( China ). He has played periodically in orchestral groups on contemporary music (M. Nyman, G. Schiaffini) and he also composed music for the theatre, poem, dance and Radio/TV, video and film (performances at Parma , Salerno , Milano, Spoleto-Festival of Two-Worlds etc.).He has taken part as a guest soloist on many innovative jazz recording projects such as Jazz-Popular Music and New Age Music. He has been artistic director of the Time in Jazz Festival in Berchidda since 1988, Concorso internazionale per giovani musicisti europei in Oristano since 1994 and also Jazz Seminary in Nuoro since 1989.
Contributions with many Italian musicians (D'Andrea, Tommaso, Trovesi, Gaslini, Pieranunzi, Giammarco, Damiani) and European and American ones like K. Wheeler, J. Taylor, D. Liebman, T. Oxley, D. Humair, A. Mangelsdorff, P. Favre, M. Portal, G. Mulligan, D. Holland, Ph. Woods, B. Brookmayer, J. Zorn, P. Daniellson, R. Beirach, J. Abercrombie, T. Gurtu, G. Schuller, etc. He has performed at all the leading Italian Festivals and countless international ones.
He has recorded some 120 albums, eleven of which appear under his own name and many others with international guests. In 1996 he received two new awards in Paris : the 'Bobby Jaspar' prize from the 'Academie du Jazz' and the 'Django d'Or' for the best European musician. Paolo Fresu met Paul Wertico , Bendik Hofseth and Arild Andersen , on the recording of the album ' Silent Voyage ' (LM021-2) by Vagelis Katsoulis, released by LIBRA MUSIC . Fresu meets them all again in Katsoulis' new album 'An unbearable short glance' that will be released within 2005 by LIBRA MUSIC.