ANTONIO FARAÒ Trio 'Tributes' (1st set) / LIZZ WRIGHT (2nd set)

ANTONIO FARAÒ Trio
“Tributes”
featuring AMEEN SALEEM & JEFF BALLARD

For the first time as a guest of Bergamo Jazz, Antonio Faraò presents his latest project, Tributes, a heartfelt tribute to some illustrious colleagues on the instrument, from McCoy Tyner to Chick Corea, who have played an important role in shaping the Italian pianist's musical personality. But in Tributes there’è also more: «In this new project, I wanted to pay tribute to some great musicians who have given me strong artistic and human emotions over the years, as well as to some places, such as Calvì where I had the opportunity to meet formidable musicians from the French jazz scene, including the great Didier Lockwood and Michel Petrucciani, to whom è dedicated to the piece “Memories of Calv”», comments Antonio Faraò, who will be joined on stage at the Teatro Sociale by double bass player Ameen Saleem, a well-rounded artist originally from Washington D.C., and drummer Jeff Ballard, already a partner of Chick Corea and Brad Melhdau and well known to Bergamo Jazz audiences.
Born in Rome in 1965, but Lombard by adoption, Antonio Faraò è is a very accomplished pianist, highly regarded internationally: among his admirers is Herbie Hancock, who has invited him several times to participate in the International Jazz Day Global Concert. The list of big-name musicians with whom he has collaborated is impressive: Jack DeJohnette, Chris Potter, Daniel Humair, Gary Bartz, Lee Konitz, Steve Grossman, Billy Cobham, Bireli Lagrène, Dennis Chambers, Claudio Fasoli, André Ceccarelli, Ivan Lins; Jeff “Tain” Watts, Benny Golson, Von Freeman, Chico Freeman, Miroslav Vitous, John Abercrombie Didier Lockwood, Billy Hart, Lenny White, Eddie Gomez, Bob Berg, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman; Wayne Shorter, Johnny Griffin, Richard Galliano, Al Jarreau, Marcus Miller, Charles Tolliver, Toots Thielemans, Christian McBride, George Garzone and others.
From 2023 è he is involved in the project McCoy Tyner Legends, a quintet in which Antonio Faraò, the only non-US member of the group, is found alongside Chico Freeman, Steve Turre, Avery Sharpe and Ronnie Burrage. In 2024, Criss Cross released the album Tributes, on which Faraò is joined by John Patitucci and Jeff Ballard.

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LIZZ WRIGHT

The New York Times described his voice as «a soft, dark alto, endowed with qualities one might associate with barrel-aged bourbon or butter-soft leather».Lizz Wright is one of the black voices of recent decades whose interpretive strengths best reflect the African-American cultural fabric, drawing inspiration from her upbringing in South Georgia, where she began as the musical director of a small church whose father was the pastor.
«My influences are very clear: è you only have to listen to my music», says Lizz Wright today, «My family was very spiritual and strongly tied to the land, having had a farming tradition for generations. What you hear in my music is not only my African-American heritage, but also that of someone who lives connected to the land. So I try to break away from stereotypes and sing my personality as a woman and as a human being on this planet.
Although still young, Lizz Wright already has a considerable career behind her. At the age of 22 she performed a Billie Holiday tribute and at 23 topped the Billboard jazz charts with her first album, Sa, followed by Dreaming Wide Awake (2005), The Orchard (2008) and Fellowship (2010), which includes prestigious collaborations with Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Joan as Policewoman  and Angélique Kidjo. With the latter, as well as with Dianne Reeves and Lisa Simone, Lizz Wright participated in the “Four Women” project, a heartfelt tribute to another legend of African-American music and culture, Nina Simone.
The 2017 album Grace was produced by Joe Henry, one of the most original songwriters in the world today. In 2022, with the live album Holding Space, Lizz Wright launched her own independent label, Blues & Greens Records, with the aim of creating a sustainable circuit for artists. The American singer’s most recent album, Shadow, released in 2024, deftly and sensitively mixes jazz, soul, blues and folk, directed by Chris Bruce. The latter also features a number of guests, from Me’Shell Ndegéocello to Angélique Kidjo to harpist Brandee Younger, while the voice of its main protagonist is enveloped by acoustic guitars, string quartets and instruments from the Indian Carnatic tradition.
Lizz Wright è is therefore a versatile artist, capable of giving personal interpretations to musical material from different sources, linked to each other by authenticity and depth.