The House Behind This One - 2008
CAM Jazz
GIOVANNI GUIDI
Born in Foligno, Italy, in 1985, Giovanni Guidi first showed interest in
music at the tender age of three, when he received a toy drumset as a gift. At twelve, he began to study the piano. During his studies at the summer masterclasses in Siena, he began to attract the attention of Enrico Rava, who later asked him to join the group Rava Under 21, and subsequently Rava New Generation. It was with this later incarnation that Guidi appeared on a nationally distributed bonus CD for the magazine“L’Espresso.”
In addition to the continuing collaboration with Rava, he performs in the Mauro Negri Quartet, the Lello Pareti Quartet, Gianluca Petrella’s Cosmic Music Orchestra and leads a quartet of his own. Guidi has performed in a number of important festivals, including Umbria Jazz, Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival, Ubi Jazz, Vicenza New Conversation, Umbria Jazz Balkanic Windows, Zurich Nu Jazz, and the Fandango Jazz Festival.
At Umbria Jazz 2006, he appeared as an artist-in-residence, performing ten consecutive nights to very enthusiastic crowds.
With his quartet, featuring three other young jazz musicians: American Dan Kinzelman on woodwinds, Stefano Senni on bass, and the Portuguese drummer Joao Lobo, Guidi demonstrates his talents as a pianist and composer.
The quartet performs a series Guidi’s original compositions, strongly influenced by popular music, but with very uncommon harmonic structures, and characterized by a profound melodic sense. In addition to these originals, the quartet performs fresh versions of pieces by musicians as varied as Ornette Coleman, Hampton Hawes, Radiohead and Bjork.
The Giovanni Guidi Trio released a CD for the Japanese record company VENUS. The CD, “Tomorrow Never Knows,” received five stars in a recent review by the magazine “Swing Journal.”
In February 2007 the CD “Indian Summer” was released by CAM JAZZ.
Giovanni Guidi has been named "Best New Talent" by a jury of 58 journalists and critics in a poll entitled "TOP JAZZ 2007," held yearly by the Italian magazine "Musica Jazz." In 2008 was released his new album called "The House Behind This One".
In July 2009 was released his new album “ The Unknown Rebel Band”. His 3rd CD for CAM Jazz, marks his debut indirecting a larger ensemble. Theresult is a record of startling intensity,successfullybalancing moments of pronounced lyricism with influences fromfree jazz, a continuing source of inspiration for the young pianist from Foligno.
“Every now and then, the jazz world gets a wonderful surprise, and this year, his name is
Giovanni Gudi. Actually, it's no surprise to me, I've known him since he was a child, and I've watched his irresistible passion grow day by day. I watched him spend days at the piano, followed his musical growth almost daily, observing his limitless curiosity and the constant refinement of his musical taste. At this point, in spite of his young age, Giovanni is without a doubt one of the most interesting and original pianists on the Italian scene. Knowing him as I do, and having the good fortune to perform with him regularly, I'm certain that this is merely the beginning of an extraordinary career.”
"When I notice the gifts of a young musician, I immediately involve
him in my groups. This is not motivated by altruism, I simply love
playing with young musicians. As I continue to develop, I need to
be surprised, and Giovanni Guidi is like (Stefano) Bollani and
(Gianluca) Petrella: he astounds me every time."
Enrico Rava
“In spite of his young age, Guidi has the appearance of a very experienced pianist; without
hesitation, he goes right for the hard stuff, with a harmonically refined pianism and a crystalclear
melodic sense.”
Aldo Gianolio (Musica Jazz)
“I heard 21 year-old Giovanni Guidi at the Umbria Jazz Festival last July, and was knocked out
by his combination of advanced creativity and impulsive fearlessness”
Thomas Conrad (Jazz Times)
“Guidi’s young quartet transformed the original compositions from his CD Indian Summer,
filling them with new energy: an excellent example of just how relevant jazz can be.”
Federico Scoppio (Musica Jazz)
“Guidi is simply one of the finest talents to emerge in Italy in the last few years. It’s been a
while since we’ve heard a debut of such maturity.”
Sergio Pasquandrea (Jazzit)
“Giovanni Guidi is a stands out in the Cosmic Band with a breathtaking solo, starting from a blues which he gradually transforms into a composition of metaphysical beauty. One hears the influence of Monk, Tristano and Chopin in a constant narrative tension, executed with a delicate touch and an abundance of ideas.”
Vincenzo Roggero (AllAbout Jazz)
Of particular note among the many groups at Umbria Jazz 2008 is the Giovanni Guidi Quartet, which channels the energy of important modern jazz groups like Ornette Coleman, Keith Jarrett and Old & New Dreams to produce young, fresh, collective interpretations.
Giuseppe Vigna (La Nazione)
An outstanding performance at Umbria Jazz 2008 was given by 23 year-old pianist Giovanni Guidi with his highly interactive quartet, uniting a passion for Ornette Coleman with a poetic element which draws inspiration from rock music and film scores. Above all, this is no Real Book jazz; they are really stretching the possibilities, helped by the originality of Dan Kinzelman.
Luigi Onori (Il Manifesto)
".A virtuoso in the highest and broadest sense of the term, gifted with impressive versatility and musicality, Guidi is maturing at a vertiginous pace, overflowing with ideas and personality."
Paolo Russo (La Repubblica)
Giovanni Guidi is playing some serious piano. And he i's bringing a contemporary, "today and now" approach to the music that''s very good for the ensemble. He is structurally perfect, which makes his improvisations sound like real-time composition, with a perfect balance between a "down to earth" feel and abstraction.
Paulo Barbosa (Jazz.pt)
Guidi's quartet was one of the highlights of this year's edition of Clusone Jazz, evoking the finest qualities of freely improvised music. The tension is maintained through a feverish expressive force which unites the contributions of all the musicians, passing from furious energy to moments of seductive introspection and intelligent lyricism, with nods to Coltrane, Jarrett and Coleman.
Renato Magni (L’Eco di Bergamo)
Giovanni Guidi, exemplary at the piano, introverted and with a dry, minimalist approach leads us on a circuitous journey full of delightful surprises.
Paolo Carradori (Il Giornale della Musica)
Giovanni Guidi is the next big thing of the italian jazz scene.
Vittorio Pio (IlMucchio.it)
