Early Life
Fresu began studying the trumpet at age 11 in the "Bernardo De Muro" music band of Berchidda. [5] At a young age, Fresu joined "Banda" a local marching band, where a member gave him a cassette of Miles Davis in Europe, with "Autumn Leave." [3]
Fresu professionally started in 1982, where he recorded with RAI, an Italian public broadcasting corporation, under the direction of Bruno Tommaso. [5]
In the early 80s, Paolo Fresu had attended the Siena Summer Jazz Seminars and impressed Enrico Rava with his performance. It was over the next 10 years did Fresu become a major player in the Italian scene. He started with his quintet, which is currently going, and then began to branched out through a variety of projects. [6]
Career
Born in Berchidda, Sardinia, [7] he picked up the trumpet at the age of 11, and played in the band Bernardo de Muro in his home town Berchidda. [8] Fresu graduated from the Conservatory of Cagliari in 1984, in trumpet studies under Enzo Morandini, and attended the University of Bologna School of music and performing arts in Bologna. [9] He made his debut in 1985, with the release of his first album Ostinato. [10] [11]
He has collaborated with leading Italian musicians like Franesco D'Andrea, Gianluigi Trovesi, Giorgio Gaslini, Enrico Rava, Bruno Tommaso, Giovanni Tommaso, Enrico Pieranunzi, Tiziana Ghiglioni. To European and Americans like Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Dave Liebman, Dave Holland, Phil Woods, Riccardo Del Frà, Gerry Mulligan, Bob Brookmayer, John Zorn, John Abercrombie, Helen Merril, Richard Galliano, etc. [5]
One of Paolo Fresu known collabaration is with Omar Sosa, a cuban born pianist. [12]
He has taught at the Siena Jazz National Seminars, as well as jazz university courses in Terni, and is the director of Nuoro Jazz Seminars in Nuoro, Italy. [13] He has led the Jazz Seminars in Nuoro for 25 years. [14]
Fresu composes music for theatre, poem, dance, radio, television, and film.
In 2007, he recorded and toured with Carla Bley's quartet, the Lost Chords.
In 2011, he released Mistico Mediterraneo, which featured him, Daniele di Bonaventura and five other members playing bandoneons in A Filetta style. [15]
In 2012, his quintet performed at the Sirifort Auditorium, New Delhi, India, to celebrate 10 years of the Italian culture center there. [16]
In 2015, Fresu was awarded an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music. [17]
Paolo Fresu is the artistic director of the Berchidda Festival Time In Jazz. [14]
Tûk Music
Paolo Fresu has worked as a producer under his own label, Tǔk Music, where he not only produces his own albums, but artists like Dino Rubino and Marco Bardoscia who he has collaborated with by recording a Chet Baker tribute album Tiempo di Chet (2018). [4] Fresu has also formed a trio with Bardoscia and Rubino, where they play music inspired by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. [4] His label Tûk Music was created in 2010 with his colleague Luca Devito, who previously had experience being a production coordinator. With the creation of the label, Fresu and Devito sought to venture off the traditional jazz path and more into the electronic and ethnic sounds, to give incentive to young musicians. [18] While they did create the label to go towards a jazz electronic path, Fresu is not against or preventing the label from working within the tradition jazz path, as they want to be inclusive to everyone.
The labels projects, including Fresu's is based on the digital-related path as Dresu sees it is vital to be present and aware of the new media, ways for building creativity and music. Therefore, Fresu sees digital media as a powerful tool to make music be in the ears of people. [18]
