Pianist, composer.
He started studying music at the Palermo Conservatory with Gaetano
Cellizza and continued later on his own inspired by pianists like
Abdullah Ibrahim, Sun Ra, Keith Tippett e Terry Riley. In 1984 he took
a first degree in Philosophy at Palermo University with a final project
entitled "Aesthetic scenarios and practical possibilities of Creative
Music" under the supervision of Paolo Emlio Carapezza. He then took the
higher diploma in piano jazz and improvisation at CPM (Milan) with
Franco D'Andrea.
His career starts in the '70s with the Samsara Silly Orchestra,
composed of 8 to 10 musicians, based upon the pop-progressive of the
Canterbury School.
In the '80s he approaches creative jazz and starts to collaborate with
the saxophonist Gianni Gebbia. At the same time he works with groups
close to ambient music (Kale Akte ed Hagakure).
With the Quartetto Mediterraneo (Tony Rusconi
drums, Emilio Galante flutes and Mariano Nocito double bass) he tours
Germany between 1991 and 1993. He played with Hagakure quartet with
Alberto Mandarini, trumpet, Massimo Pintori drums and Mariano Nocito
double bass.
As piano solo he is working on three projects:
"A quiet place in the universe",
rearrangements of some Sun Ra compositions;
"Altri destini", book about Creative Music,
and "Ishk Bashad" on arab music.
His way of playing the piano is characterised by a Mediterranean and
Arabic colour. He is amongst the few who study the use of the piano in
classical and traditional Arabic music (for his research he visited
Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Marocco).
Lately he has been working with Guido Mazzon and Tony Rusconi.
His last production "Ishk Bashad" for
piano solo performance about arabic music is now a
quartet with Amari Mouna
(oud and voice), Enzo Rao (violin), Peppe
Consolmagno (voice and percussion) and Giuseppe Grifeo (piano and
voice). It is a realistic fusion among classical arabic music,
mediterranean music and jazz.
He has taken part in events such as: Palermo Jazz Festival 1981,
Sicilia Jazz 1982, Performance with Living Theatre a Palermo 1983,
Festa dell'Unità Palermo 1985, Pavia Rock 1989, Jazz emergente Forlì
1990, Jazz Festival Halle, Weimar, Jena, Erfurt, Dresda 1991,'92,'93,
Jazz e dintorni Trapani 1994, I suoni del '900 Teatro Massimo Palermo
1994,'95, Palermo di scena 1995, '96, '97, '98, Festival di Babilonia
Iraq 1995, Radio Popolare Milano 1998, Ricordi Mediastore Milano 1997,
'98, Clusone Jazz 1998, Magdeburgo Jazz 1998, Manerbio Jazz 1999.
Wyso Radio Programm, Dayton USA, 1999 (special music by Sun Ra & Giuseppe
Grifeo), special on Giuseppe Grifeo music, 2000, with Ishk Bashad: Pavia,
november 2000 - Ancona, april 2001 - Fano, june 2001 - Womad, Palermo
august 2001.