Enzo Avitabile

Enzo Avitabile at the Hausacher LeseLenz 2013

Vincenzo "Enzo" Avitabile (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛntso aviˈtaːbile]; born 1 March 1955) is an Italian saxophonist, composer and singer-songwriter. He plays a fusion of world music and jazz fusion music, rooted in Neapolitan traditions and language.

Career

Born in Naples, Italy, Avitabile started as a self-taught saxophonist at ten years old. He graduated in flute at the Naples Conservatory. He started his career as a turnist, and made his record debut in 1982 with Avitabile, an album which saw the collaboration of Richie Havens.[1]

He tours with his band, going under the name of Enzo Avitabile & Bottari. Bottari is a traditional rhythm from southern Italy involving percussion elements such as wine barrels, wooden drums and the like. Avitabile keeps the Bottari culture in mind while experimenting with fusion jazz (sax, trumpets, etc.).

He has collaborated with Pino Daniele, Edoardo Bennato, James Brown, Afrika Bambaataa and Tina Turner, Trilok Gurtu, Daby Touré, and Ashraf Sharif Khan (son of Sharif Khan Poonchwaley), among others.[1][2] With his Bottari lineup, he was nominated for the prestigious 'Audience Award' in the 2005 BBC Awards for World Music.

In 2012 he was the subject of Jonathan Demme's docu-movie Enzo Avitabile Music Life.[2][3]

Enzo Avitabile and Mario Trevi (2015)

In the same year, he recorded "Black tarantella", an award-winning record with new songs that included duets and collaborations with outstanding international musicians from Europe, America and Africa like, among others, David Crosby, Bob Geldof and Franco Battiato.

In 2017 he won 2 Donatello's David Awards for best song and best soundtrack of the movie "Gli indivisibili".[3]

Discography

References

  1. ^ a b Ernesto Assante. "Avitabile, Enzo". Gino Castaldo (edited by). Dizionario della canzone italiana. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp.69–70.
  2. ^ a b Rapold, Nicolas (17 October 2013). "A Boundless Appetite for a Universe of Sound". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b Fondi, Vanni (28 March 2017). "Doppio David di Donatello, stravince Enzo Avitabile". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 16 May 2022.
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