Giorgio Gaslini

A piano player, composer, Milanese orchestra conductor, world famous and widely popular in Italy jazz musician, Giorgio Gaslini has at his credit three thousand concerts and eighty disks, nine of them gained to him important critical awards. Ever since Sixties he brought his music to the young audience in school, universities, factories, mental hospitals, concert-halls, theatres and Festival.
He has been the first holder of jazz courses at the Santa Cecilia Academy of Music in Rome (1972-73) and at the Giuseppe Verdi Academy of Music in Milan (1979-80). His school and his groups originated Italy’s today best musicians.
As to academic music, after taking six diplomas at the Milan Academy of Music, he composed symphonic works, operas and ballets represented at the Scala Theatre in Milan, at the Rome Opera Theatre, at the Massimo Theatre in Palermo, at the Margherita Theatre in Genova, at the Regio Theatre in Parma, at the Roman Theatre in Verona and in RAI (the Italian public television).
For the theatre he has composed stage musics collaborating with many of the most famous Italian directors.
He also composed over 40 film soundtracks. Among the best known, music for Michelangelo Antonioni’s “La notte“, awarded with the “Silver Ribbon” prize.

On set of “La notte” from left: Alceo Guatelli, Eraldo Volontè, Giorgio Gaslini, Jeanne Moreau, Ettore Ulivelli, Marcello Mastroianni.

In television he has conducted widely followed programmes such as “Jazz in Academy of Music” and “Total Music“.
He has written two books: “Total Music” (Ed. Feltrinelli) and “Technique and art of jazz” (Ed. Ricordi), which became fundamental texts.
In 1986 a biography-book (Ed. Muzzio) was published.
Giorgio Gaslini has been the first Italian musician mentioned in the world Referendum “New talents” of the American review “Down beat” and the first Italian officially invited to an American Festival (New Orleans 1976-77).
From 1976 till now he toured 50 countries in all continents: through USA (8 tournées), Mexico, South America, Canada, Cuba, India, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and Russia. In 1985 he has been the first jazz musician invited in China.
He played in the most important Italian and International festivals and collaborated with great American solists, such as Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Roswell Rudd, Eddie Gomez, Max Roach, Don Cherry, Jean Luc Ponty.

with Antony Braxton

In 1991 he founded the “Grande Orchestra Nazionale” of jazz.

with Eddie Gomez

In 1992 the Italian review “Musica Jazz” dedicated him a whole issue, sold together with the unpublished CD “Masks“.

In 1993 the Treccani enciclopaedia reserved him a biographic and artistic headword.

From 1991 to 1995 Gaslini composed works for the famous “Italian Instabile Orchestra” the two suites “Pierrot Solaire” (a Soul Note CD titled “Masks”,also Leo Record) and “Skies of Europe” (a ECM-CD with a foreword of Ornette Coleman, first prize of the critics in 1995) both welcome all over Europe with great enthusiasm from specialist and public as well.

with Roswell Rudd

Starting 1997 “Soul Note” will publish on Cd Giorgio Gaslini’s complete work.
In 1996 he has composed and directed his “Mister O“, the first “jazz melodrama” in the history of music.