GRIFEO - CONSOLMAGNO

BIOGRAPHY

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GIUSEPPE GRIFEO - Biography

Giusepe Grifeo, 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 Beppe 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 Forlì1990, 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 & Beppe Grifeo), special on Beppe Grifeo music, 2000, with Ishk Bashad: Pavia, november 2000 - Ancona, april 2001 - Fano, june 2001 - Womad, Palermo august 2001; Suoni da altri mo(n)di: duet with Peppe Consolmagno: Pisa, Firenze february 2003; Concerto per pianoforte arabo e piccolo ensemble: Conservatorio di Musica "V.Bellini", Palermo may 2003.,with  Ishk Bashad: International Festival de Sousse in Tunisia 2004.

Peppe Consolmagno, born in Rimini in 1958, brought up in Italy , mainly plays instruments built on his own with materials which he collects during his travels, such as gourds, bamboo, wood and metal. His music is played on instruments belonging to extra-european cultures, for example that of Brazil (his main inspiration), Africa and Asia which, nevertheless, share in common. The Burman gong, the Shell, the Meditation cups, the African pots, the Pygmies’ one-note flutes, the Water gourds, the Berimbau together with his voice and a strong intimist relationship with them, create a unique dimension where natural sound, silence, timbre and rhythm predominate. Consolmagno played at international festivals such as: “Umbria Jazz”, “Festival International de Jazz” in Montreal-Canada, “Jazz o Brazil” in Paris, “Kunstamt Stegliz” in Berlin, “Drum 2000” percussion festival in Bologna, “Festival di Musica da Camera” in Tolentino, “Centro Studi Brasiliani C.E.B.” in Rome, “World Music Festival” in Lanciano, “Percussion World and Sound PWS7” in Asti, RAI “Radiotre Suite”, “Jaco Pastorius Music Festival” in Coriano, “5th World Music Festival” in Rome, “Musica dei Popoli” in Florence, and played at the festival “Sete Sóis, Sete Luas” in Portugal, "Percussionistica" World Rhythm Festival in Umbertide, Istituto Musicale P.Mascagni in Livorno, Liceo Musicale in Catania, Womad Festival, Fandango Jazz Festival – La Palma at Rome, I Suoni delle Dolomiti Festival in Trentino, International Festival de Sousse in Tunisia, Banlieues Bleues Festival in Paris. His activity in ethno-musicological research leads him to teach at seminars and workshops focusing on extra-european music and building of percussion instruments which, a.o., he builds for Nanà Vasconcelos, Cyro Baptista, Trilok Gurtu, Glen Velez, Flora Purim, Duduka da Fonseca and Paolo Vinaccia on their request. Consolmagno also writes for italian specialized magazines such as “World Music”, “Percussioni”, “Strumenti Musicali”, “Jazz”, “DrumClub”, “Il Manifesto”, “Jazzitalia”, “CiaoJazz”, “CupaCupa”, “Musicando” and others. He was invited to Salvador-Bahia ( Brazil ) at “III e IV PercPan” (world percussion festival). Through his work as a journalist and his interviews to famous musicians, he intends to give a voice to the style and way of thinking which unites him to them. He collaborated with other art forms (theatre, painting, sculpture, poetry, dance), structures (University, schools), and media (radio and TV: Rai, Canale 5, Video Music). He was among the winners of Arezzo Wave ’95 festival.

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