Stefano di Battista

Celebrated Italian jazz saxophonist and bandleader Stefano di Battista was born in Rome on February 14, 1969. He immersed himself in jazz at a young age and start with the saxophone as a teenager, greatly influenced by Art Pepper and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. His desire for a career in jazz solidified after meeting Massimo Urbani, but it was in the early 1990s, after taking the advice of pianist Jean-Pierre Como to move to Paris, that his career began to boom. He connected with several of the best French jazz musicians at the time, and made his recording debut as a bandleader with 1997’s Volare. He signed to the celebrated jazz label Blue Note who allowed his to keep the Italian focus of his work even though he was entrenched in the French jazz scene. He released five albums for Blue Note including his self-titled 2000 LP, the 2004 Charlie Parker tribute Parker’s Mood, and 2007’s Trouble Shootin’. He challenged himself with his material on projects like 2011’s Woman’s Land, which drew inspiration from famous women throughout history, and he formed a regular working relationship with vocalist Nicky Nicolai. Eager to collaborate with other musicians, he balanced his own work as a bandleader with gigs as a sideman. His eclecticism was underscored but the 2021 release of Morricone Stories, an album-long tribute to the celebrated film composer Ennio Morricone.

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