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Andrea was born in Viareggio (Lucca, Italy) the 26 of July, 1965 and was guided to the music by his father Dino, a self-taught musician and Eb bugle player in the village band. Andrea began to study music and trumpet in 1976 with mr M. Peruzzi, former musician with the Don Marino Barreto jr. orchestra, and successively he attended the Conservatory at the "Istituto Musicale Pareggiato L. Boccherini" in Lucca (Italy). During these years he started also to be engaged by some local semi-professional big bands and commercial music groups. In 1984 Andrea began to perform professionally in the classical music field, and in 1987 he finished his Conservatory studies with highest full marks (10 and praise). In 1987 he also attended a masterclass with A. Ghitalla (Boston Simphony Orchestra soloist trumpet and teacher at the University of Michigan), starting his first jazz studies with O. Valdambrini and S. Fanni (soloist trumpets of the RAI network Big Bands in Rome and Milan). In 1988 he won the national auditions for the European and Italian tour of the "Orchestra Giovanile Italiana" (Italian Youth Orchestra) and for the "Teatro Comunale del Giglio" of Lucca, collaborating also till 1990 with the "ORT Orchestra Regionale Toscana", "EUR Spettacoli", "Orchestra da Camera Lucchese" and selected as finalist in Rome for the ECYO (European Community Youth Orchestra). In 1989/90 he fulfiled the military compulsory service playing in the Italian Air Force Band in Rome. In the following years, after a short experience with popular dance music, he turned definitively to jazz, latin and commercial music performing in many MEDIASET, RAI, TMC and SKY networks TV shows (till now 47 TV shows) and recording as top studio musician for some of the most important italian recording studios, RTI MUSIC studios, various cinema soundtracks and TV commercials. From jazz to classic and pop music he has performed in the USA ("Making Waves" Festival, San Francisco 1997), Malta, Finland (Oulu Jazz Festival 1999), Germany (Hannover Expo 2000 and Ludwigshafen Theatre, 1988), France (Radio France, 1988), Lichtenstein, Austria, Svitzerland, Holland (Concertgebow di Amsterdam, 1988), Belgium, Scotland (Usher Hall, Festival di Edimburgo, 1988), Greece, Spain (San Sebastian Jazz Festival, 38th Jazz Aldia) and Principato of Monaco (Sporting Club, 1996). In Italy, he has performed and/or recorded as lead trumpet and soloist with a rainbow of very famous italian artists as Jovanotti (1997 tour), Fiorello, Adriano Celentano, Gianni Morandi, Renato Zero, Elio e le Storie Tese & Biba Band, Toto Cutugno, YuYu, Irene Grandi, Fausto Leali, Articolo 31, Gino Paoli, Tullio De Piscopo, Ivana Spagna, Andrea Mingardi, Rossana Casale and Jenny B., accompanying in TV live concerts and shows a very high number of famous italian singers and some great international artists like George Michael ("Pavarotti & Friends For Cambodia and Tibet", 2000, TV live concert released on video and CD by Decca), Gloria Gaynor (2003 italian tour), Gibson Brothers (2003 italian tour), Joe Cocker, Tom Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Randy Crawford, Matt Bianco, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Samantha Fox, Imagination, Patrick Hernandez, Tony Hadley and Paul Young, directed by Jeff Westley, Carl Davis, Fio Zanotti, Renato Serio, Pippo Caruso, Peppe Vessicchio, Riz Ortolani, Fabio Frizzi, Aldo Bonocore, Luca Orioli, Lucio Fabbri, Valeriano Chiaravalle, Mario Natale, Paolo Silvestri, Massimo Zanotti, Demo Morselli, Rob Mathes and José Molinas. Andrea has performed in Italy with some great jazz musicians as Maynard Ferguson, Peter Erskine (italian tour 1996), Paul Jeffrey, Carl Anderson, Lee Konitz, John Taylor and Palle Daniellson, working also with some of the most important italian jazz musicians as Bruno Tommaso, Enrico Rava, Stefano Bollani, Gianluigi Trovesi, Marco Tamburini, Henghel Gualdi, Paolo Fresu, Fabrizio Bosso, Paolo Silvestri, Roberto Gatto, Roberto Martinelli, Mauro Grossi, Paolo Pellegatti, Dario Deidda, Pietro Tonolo, Mario Raja, Tommaso Lama, Emilio Soana, Tony Arco, Giampaolo Casati, Roberto Rossi, Piero Leveratto, Alfred Kramer, Giulio Visibelli, Mauro Negri, Amedeo Bianchi, Claudio Pascoli, Ivano Borgazzi, Daniele Di Gregorio, Wally Allifranchini, Sergio Orlandi, Davide Ghidoni, Andrea Dulbecco, Roberto Cecchetto and many others. He has played as lead and soloist trumpet with many italian big bands: Jazz Art Orchestra (Parma), Barga Jazz Big Band (Lucca), Evolution Big Band (Milano), C.B. Band (Reggio Emilia), New Sugar Kitty's Big Band (Piacenza), All Times Big Band (Perugia), Interart Band (Vicenza) N.C.D.M. Big Band (Milano), Demo Band (Milano), Band IT (Como), JAM Big Band (Livorno), New Forties Big Band (Milano), Keever Big Band (Novara), Dino Siani Big Band (Lecco), Di Gregorio Big Band (Pesaro), Bansigu Big Band (Genova), Village Big Band (Bologna), Onda Sonora Big Band (Carrara), Mai Dire Band (Milano), Lino Quagliero Big Band (Roma), the Biba Band (Milano) and the Orchestra Nazionale Giovanile di Jazz (Italian National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Siena), performing twice as special guest with the Big Bop Nouveau Band of Maynard Ferguson at the Teatro Comunale (Municipal Theatre) of Casalmaggiore (Cremona, 2000) and at the Vicenza Jazz Festival (2003). In 1999 he recorded "MATTIA'S WALK", his first CD as leader, released by the italian label Splasc(H) Records, and in 2001 "RICORDO DI...NAPOLI", a tribute to the great neapolitan italian music released by italian label Fonotecnica. He has worked in the italian musical "Nights On Broadway" and also has collaborated with "Superanima ", "Orkestra" e "Mariposa" bands ("Novecento" association, Reggio Emilia) in theatre shows and live concerts, performing also as soloist with the brass band "Brass Orchestra" (Lucca). Andrea performed also with the acid jazz group "Black & Brown" and with salsa music latin bands "Raza Latina", "Latin Sound Perù" and "Syncopa Latina", accompanying famous salsa singers Ray Sepulveda, Jorge Louis and Johnny Rivera in their italian tours, performing at the latin-american festivals in Viareggio, Milano and Verona (1999/2000) . About teaching, he has been substitute at the "Istituto Musicale Pareggiato L. Boccherini" in Lucca. In this conservatory he is giving a permanent seminar on the lead trumpet playing and the high range of the trumpet (2001/2002/2003). Moreover, he gives seminars for YAMAHA, for the "Artemista" Musical Association (Barberino Val D'elsa, Italy 2003) and for the N.C.D.M. School in Milan. and has been the only italian trumpet player consulted for the draft of the american book "Embouchure - The Pros Talk" by mr Clint Pops McLaughlin (2002) and he has been also assistant of Maynard Ferguson during his seminar at the Vicenza Jazz Festival 2003. He is also the artistic director of the "Dean Benedetti Jazz Festival" in Torre del Lago Puccini (Lucca, 2000/2001/2002/2003). Andrea Tofanelli is a YAMAHA artist. |
