SYDNEY\ais\ – Among various collaborations established in the pastItalian Cultural Institute of Sydneywhich were forcibly interrupted during the three-year period of the pandemic but are now returning to bear fruit, the one with the Italian agency and music house stands out. Violipiano. In the past, this collaboration has brought the talented violinist Luca Ciarla to concerts in Australia, solo and with the accompaniment of Chris Jarrett, pianist and son of the great Keith.
In 2023, the Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney and Violipiano, in collaboration with Italian Consulate in Brisbaneannounced their presence Jazz duet comprises Max De Aloe with harmonica and accordion e Mike Del Ferro on the piano.
De Aloe and Del Ferro will perform at September 20 V Foundry 616 by Ultimo To Sydney and the next day, September 21V Brisbane Jazz Club. Both musicians will pay tribute to the great Belgian harmonist Toots Tielemans, presenting some of the most significant works from Tielemans’ repertoire, original compositions and arrangements from the Italian Bel Canto tradition.
Max De Aloe is considered one of the most active jazz harmonica players on the European scene. He has fifteen albums to his credit as a leader and more than forty as a sideman, as well as solo exhibitions, composing soundtracks for theatrical productions and documentaries, and creative collaborations with poets, writers and directors. He has worked with, among others, Adam Nussbaum, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Paul Vertico, John Helliwell (Supertramp), Mike Melillo, Bill Carrothers, Eliot Sigmund, Don Friedman, Hendrik Merkens, Paolo Fresu, Garrison Fewell, Enrico Rava, Franco Cerri, Enrico Pieranunzi, Dado Moroni. He has participated in various music seasons and festivals around the world. He has won Jazzit magazine’s Jazz It Award multiple times and the 2015 Orpheus Award for Jazz with his CD Borderline. His professional activities are divided into performing and teaching. He runs his own music school, which he founded in 1995 (Centro Espressione Musicale) in Gallarate, where he teaches jazz improvisation, modern piano, accordion and, above all, chromatic harmonica. He was a teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts and Crafts at the prestigious La Scala theater in Milan. He published “The Chromatic Harmonic Method” in 2012 for Sher Music in the USA and the same method in Italy for Volontè & Co. in 2013.
Mike del Ferro is a Dutch musician, composer, pianist and arranger, one of the most active on the international scene. He traveled extensively around the world, developing the ability to achieve a fusion of the established canons of Western music and the boldness of jazz improvisation, while simultaneously paying homage to the ancient structures of Asian, South American and African musical traditions. Mike was born in Amsterdam to the tenor Leonard del Ferro (1921–1992). He began studying classical piano at the age of nine; at seventeen he fell in love with jazz and began studying jazz piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he received a master’s degree. His reputation as a soloist, accompanist, composer and arranger stems from his performances, recordings and tours around the world with such musicians as Toots Tielemans, Branford Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, Randy Brecker, Oscar Castro Neves, Deborah Brown, Eric Truffas, Jorge . Rossi, Sibongile Khumalo, Carl Allen, Scott Hamilton, Richard Galliano and many others. As a sideman, he has appeared on more than 20 albums, with music ranging from Dixieland to world music. He also teaches piano masterclasses around the world and runs his successful online clinic, Self-Management and Networking for Musicians, a podcast series where he gives advice to musicians early in their careers. (ais)