Antonio Farao
Extraordinary Italian pianist Antonio Faraó was born in Rome in 1965. He attended the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan in the '80s, where he refined his musical gifts. Faraó began cultivating his profound love of jazz at clubs when he was only in his teens. Even then, those around him didn't miss the natural talent for piano the young man had been blessed with. Faraó started touring at an early age, playing festivals like Lugano, Merano, Lyon, Umbria Jazz, Palermo, and many others. In 1987, at only 22, he won the New Talent Prize at the X1 Music Review. Four years later, he was voted Pianist of the Year, winning the Four Roses Prize. In 1998, he was invited to enter into the international competition for the Concours Martial Solal. Faraó came away as the winner. In 1999, he saw the release of his debut album, Black Inside, on the Enja Records label. Bassist Ira Coleman and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts accompanied Faraó's piano work. With post-bop tracks like "Latin Dance," "Sweet," and "My One and Only Love," the album combined a Mediterranean touch with the African-American jazz styling that Faraó became known for. A sophomore effort titled Thorn followed in early 2001.
As Faraó's reputation grew he was able to attract several jazz heavy-hitters to the studio, resulting in albums with saxophonist Bob Berg (2002's Far Out), bassist Miroslav Vitous (2005's Takes on Pasolini), and drummer Andre Ceccarelli (2008's Woman's Perfume and 2011s Domi). He then paired with saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Ira Coleman, and drummer Jack DeJohnette for 2014's Evan. A year later, Faraó made his Verve label debut with Boundaries, which featured several of his longtime Italian collaborators including saxophonist/drummer Mauro Negri and bassist Martin Gjakonovski. In 2017, he returned with Eklektik, which featured contributions from rapper Snoop Dogg, vocalist Walter Ricci, drummer Manu Katché, guitarist Bireli Lagrene, and others
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Discography
11 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Domi (feat. Darryl Hall, André Ceccarelli)
Jazz - Released by Cristal records on Oct 2, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Inside
Antonio Farao, Ira Coleman, Jeff Watts
Jazz - Released by ENJA RECORDS Matthias Winckelmann on Apr 16, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Takes On Pasolini
Contemporary Jazz - Released by CAM JAZZ on Dec 12, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Boundaries
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Italia srL. on Jun 23, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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News from... (feat. Snoop Dogg, Walter Ricci) (Radio Edit)
Jazz - Released by WM Italy on Jan 20, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
El Doudou
Pop/Rock - Released by iMD-FaroutMusic on Jan 10, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo