Enrico Rava 4Uartet

Enrico Rava is an Italian trumpeter who was inspired by the music of Miles Davis. He is credited as bringing Italian jazz to a worldwide audience. He started off playing the trombone in Turin, but after hearing Miles Davis switched to the trumpet. He recorded movie soundtracks with Gato Barbieri in the early 1960s. He played with Steve Lacy's band and contributed trumpet on Lacy's album 'The Forest and the Zoo' in 1966.

He moved to New York in 1967 and played with the likes of Marion Brown, Roswell Rudd, Rashied Ali, Cecil Taylor and Charlie Haden. His first album as a band leader was the 1972 work 'Il Giro del Giornio in 80 Mondi'.

Rava's most notable albums include 'Quartet' (1978), 'Rava Opera Va' (1993), 'Easy Living' (2004), 'Tati' (2005), 'The Words and the Days' (2007), 'New York Days' (2009) and 'Tribe' (2011). He collaborated with keyboard player Franco D'Andrea on the album 'Bix and Pop' (1994), a tribute to Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong, and also on 'Shades of Chet' (1999) a homage to Chet Baker.

In 2012 he released 'Rava On the Dance Floor', a live album recorded in Rome and dedicated to the music of Michael Jackson. Enrico claimed to have only discovered Jackson's music after his death and on the album covered songs such as 'Thriller', 'Blood On the Dance Floor' and 'Smooth Criminal' giving them a laid-back jazz treatment.

His most recent quartet features Francesco Diodati on guitar, Gabriele Evangelista on double bass and Enrico Morello on drums. Rava released the album 'Wild Dance' in 2015 and in 2019 he played with saxophonist Joe Lovano on the live album 'Roma'.

Enrico Rava has played on more than 100 recordings and in his long career has appeared with numerous acts including Massimo Urbani, John Abercrombie, Pat Metheny, Archie Shepp, Joe Henderson and Stafano Bollani.