About - EmanueleBasentini
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Biography
Emanuele Basentini was born in Potenza, in the south of Italy. Like me, he discovered music early and started to play the guitar as a child. At 13 he realized his passion for jazz music. He moved to Rome in 1990 and quickly began to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with in Italy's close knit jazz scene. It was not long before he began touring and performing nationally and internationally. In 1997, Emanuele won both the prestigious Massimo Urbani prize and the national Baronissi Jazz Contest, which placed him firmly on the map.
From September 1997 to December 1998 he moved from Rome to Paris, where he had the chance to perform with leading figures in the French jazz scene.
In 2002 Emanuele was invited to join Renzo Arbore's ensemble The Swing Maniacs, as its jazz guitarist and embarked on a summer tour, playing in some of Italy's best known venues, including the Greco theatre in Taormina and the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento. Shortly after this tour, he appeared with The Swing Maniacs on the popular television show "Mama mia mi piace il ritmo." A national tour of Italy followed, with concerts at the Sporting Club in Montecarlo, Colosseo theatre in Milano, Regio theatre of Parma, Tim theatre of Bari, Sistina theatre in Roma, Carlo Felice of Genova, Bellini of Catania, Augusteo in Napoli, and other theatres in Palermo, Messina, Modena, Padova, Lamezia, Avellino, Firenze, Pisa and Nizza. During his years with The Swing Maniacs, he performed on many of Italy's most popular TV shows, including "Maurizio Costanzo Show, "Buona Domenica," "Premio Barocco" "Donna Sotto Le Stelle" "Versilia" "Casa Laurito" "Mamma mi piace il ritmo" and "Meno siamo meglio stiamo."
Emanuele recorded two albums with Renzo Arbore and the Swing Maniacs: "Renzo Swing" (2003), which went Platinum in Italy, and "Vintage ma non li dimostra" (2005), which won the Golden Disc.
In 2005 Emanuele was chosen to serve as President of the Jury for the international guitar contest at the prestigious Eddie Lang Jazz Festival in Monteroduni, Italy (he was invited back as Director of Education, teacher and competition judge in 2011). That same year he also played guitar for on the film soundtrack "Riviera Cocktail" by Heinz Bùtelr, performing with the well-
In 2008, Emanuele recorded the well known Irving Berlin song, "The Best Thing For You" with the saxophonist Carlo Atti, which released by Red Records in Milan. In June 2008 he traveled to the United Kingdom and performed in "The Italian Jazz Festival" in London, appearing in world famous jazz clubs like 606 and Ronnie Scott’s.
The following year, he was awarded the "Lucano Insigne nel Mondo" prize by the Council for the Italian region of Basilicata, which recognizes influential figures native to Lucania who have demonstrated national achievement and special merit in a social, scientific, artistic or literary field.
Like many jazz musicians, Emanuele is also highly sought after as a teacher: in Italy he has taught jazz in various schools and colleges, such as the University of Music in Rome, the Saint Louis Music Academy (Rome), the Testaccio School (Rome) and the Conservatory Gesualdo da Venosa in Potenza. He also taught courses on Jazz Guitar Improvisation for the Conservatory of Cosenza at the International Courses in Zumaia (Bilbao). In 2012, he taught and performed at Bobby Durham’s Jazz Camp in Italy.
Over the course of his exceptional career to date, Emanuele as performed internationally, playing at festivals throughout Italy and headlining in some of the country's most popular clubs. He has also performed and collaborated with some of the most influential American and European musicians in contemporary jazz.
In 2012 Emanuele found the Potenza International Jazz Festival in Potenza.
Since 2013 Emanuele lives in Nyc where he plays with the saxophonist Alex Hoffman.