MARCO COLONNA
A live solo album recorded during Musica in Villa Festival on October 4th 2020 at Santa Maria’s Church, in Castions di Strada (UD), dedicated to John Coltrane’s repertoire. The solo concert is one of the most evocative moments proposed by the Roman musician, performed in places with particular acoustics, often in churches. Over the years it has become a real classic, but always in the name of innovation. The bass clarinet, his main instrument, is joined by the sopranino sax, as a new voice interactiong with the space and the reverbs of the church.
The experience in its whole is therefore summed up by the musician: “To offer. To give onself. To share. Powerful words describing a humanity in search of direction. And although I’m not thinking I can come close to be an example, I believe that paying tribute to such a great and pure one is an important gesture, a real and concrete action.
I chose to pay homage to different songs, but which I find seminal in Coltrane’s production, and obviously “Offering” could not be missing along with “My Favorite Things”, “Naima”,and less known ones such as “Ogunde”. I still remember my sax pointing straight to the sky while performing “The Wise One”. Those are the words used by the musician to describe his new work.
The album was co-produced by Niafunken, Setola di Maiale, Progetto Integrato Cultura del Medio Friuli and the Municipality of Castions di Strada.
www.niafunken.com
www.marcocolonnamusic.com
a short biography
A personal path, a unique style drove Marco Colonna to become one of the most unique Italian
musicians of his generation, and since 2015 his name started appearing on the Year-End charts of
Musica Jazz and other magazines or websites, named as one of the best woodwind players of the
country nonetheless, since 2017 he’s placed in the top ten of the best Italian jazz musicians.
Born in 1978 in Rome, he’s active as multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser and writer but in
the last years he chose to dedicate himself to bass clarinet, to explore all the possibilities of this
instrument, even playing two or three instruments simultaneously, inspired by the works of Roland
Kirk, to whom is dedicated the Rashaan trio with Ettore Fioravanti and Eugenio Colombo.
Marco Colonna joined Roberto Ottaviano’s Eternal Love and recorded an album with Zeno De
Rossi, Giovanni Maier and Alexander Hawkins, released on Dodici Lune label. The group
received great feedbacks by the critics and was featured in different Year-End charts both as album
both as ensemble. He took part to Unit by Stefano Giust and Evan Parker, a concert and a record
featuring Alberto Novello, Giorgio Pacorig, Martin Mayes, Patrizia Oliva and Michele Anelli,
released via Setola di Maiale.
In September 2019 he performed a solo set at Basilica di San Gaudenzio, in Novara (Italy), during
the European Jazz Conference and then took part to the African tour of Federica Michisanti Horn
Trio, arranged by La Casa Del Jazz (Rome).
Marco Colonna is still active as writer and he was commissioned a book to be released by Blonk
publishing in 2020, entitled “E mio padre mi disse che non ero normale – breve cronaca di un
pensiero artistico indipendente”.
He’s working on new material for his ensemble, Noise Of Trouble and on new projects with Izumi
Kimura, Fabrizio Spara and Alexander Hawkins.