Enrico Pieranunzi & Jasper Somsen
Biography Enrico Pieranunzi & Jasper Somsen
Enrico Pieranunzi
was born in Rome in 1949 and has for many years been among the most significant and well-known protagonists of the international jazz scene. A pianist, composer, and arranger, he has recorded more than 70 albums under his own name, ranging from piano solo to trio, from duo to quintet. He has collaborated, either live or in the studio, with Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Charlie Haden, Chris Potter, Marc Johnson, and Joey Baron. Pieranunzi has been named Artist of the Year three times by the Musica Jazz magazine critics’ poll (in 1989, 2003, 2008). He also won the French Django d’Or prize as “Best European Musician” in 1997 and the German Echo Jazz Award in 2014 as “Best International Keyboard Artist”. Pieranunzi has performed his music all over the world in the most prestigious international festivals, from Montréal to Copenhagen and Buenos Aires, from Berlin and Madrid to Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Beijing. For the past ten years, he has been playing more and more in the USA, and has taken part in the San Francisco and Spoleto (Charleston, South Carolina) festivals. He has also been regularly featured in the most important New York clubs, especially the Village Vanguard, where in July 2010 he recorded the album Live at the Village Vanguard with Marc Johnson and Paul Motian. This is the first album ever recorded by an Italian musician (and one of the very few by European musicians) in the legendary diamond shaped 7th Avenue venue. A second Live at the Village Vanguard, recorded in 2015 with Donny McCaslin, Scott Colley and Clarence Penn, will be released at the end of 2016. Enrico Pieranunzi has composed over 300 pieces, many of which have become standards performed and recorded by musicians all over the world (Night Bird, Don’t Forget the Poet, Fellini’s Waltz).
Jasper Somsen
is a Dutch jazz musician (double bass, composition) and producer.
Dutch double bass player, composer and producer Jasper Somsen (1973) studied both jazz and classical double bass. He has worked with Peter Erskine, Enrico Pieranunzi, Joey Calderazzo, Jeff Ballard, John Beasley, Jean-Michel Pilc, Eric Marienthal, Bob Sheppard, Seamus Blake, Lynne Arriale, Jorge Rossy, Kendrick Scott, Justin Faulkner, E.J. Strickland, André Ceccarelli, Gary Husband and Gabriele Mirabassi, among others.
In addition to being a performer, Jasper Somsen is also a renowned studio producer. As bassist and/or producer he was responsible for the last highly acclaimed albums by Enrico Pieranunzi, Bob Sheppard, Lynne Arriale and Jean-Michel Pilc for Challenge Records International. As a leader he released "Dreams, Thoughts & Poetry" (The Music of Enrico Pieranunzi - 2010), "Sardegna" (2013) and the albums "A New Episode In Life, part I & II" (2017).
Jasper 's long-standing friendship and collaboration with Portuguese singer Maria Mendes was awarded the Dutch EDISON 2020 for the album "Close To Me" (Maria Mendes feat. John Beasley and the Metropole Orkest). The arrangement of the famous fado "Asas Fachadas" was nominated for an American GRAMMY 2021 and a Latin GRAMMY 2020.
Jasper performs worldwide and can be heard on more than 40 albums. In addition to his busy schedule as a musician and studio producer, Jasper divides his time between composing and teaching. Since 2001, he has performed and recorded many film scores live.
