Home Artists Contacts Concerts Links

 

Gianfranco Continenza

 

www.gianfrancocontinenza.com

Scheda Tecnica (.pdf)

Gallery

 

“I was very impressed by Gianfranco’s playing and I was very impressed by his compositions too,  it’s a really wonderful music. Continenza is a very talented musician and very original too.
He improved so much since last time we played together, great improvisation.
I liked very much the musicians of the CD too. Great musicians.
Even if I come from a different generation I really apprecciated the way Gianfranco used the guitar effects, it’s a great sound, very musical. I have to say: it’s a really great CD.”
Joe Diorio

"Gianfranco it was a pleasure working on the CD with you.

I had a lot of fun playing on the tracks and very very happy with the way they turned out.

Your tunes sounds great and are fun to play on.

All the best with them and thanks for asking me to participate on your project.

Thanks !


 Bill Evans"

Hi Gianfranco,

Your CD sounds Great!

Here's a quote:

"This is a great recording! A Slammin' fusion affair played by great

contemporary musicians."

Mark Egan

Gianfranco has assembled a group of "A" list world class musicians that perform his original music with finesse and ease.

Continenza's music is sharply played and is reminiscent of Mike Stern and Scott Henderson.

The compositions are well crafted and are harmonically, rhythmically and melodically superb.

Gianfranco seems to be able to move seamlessly from soulful gut wrenching playing to soaring technically astounding passages.

Steve Trovato

“Gianfranco, It is a very nice CD! Your playing is excellent and I really like the songs, too. I hope we get a chance to meet again and play together sometime.

All the best.”

Carl Verheyen

“Gianfranco was a bright light of energy when I first met him, and a sponge to everything there was to learn about music. In the many years since, he's managed to get deep inside of himself with a rare dedication to pull out an original, invigorating, and intriguing voice, which just happens to come through the guitar. With his first solo CD "The past inside the present" he's painted a delightful high level musical experience and surrounded himself with superb musicians of a like mind.”

Jennifer Batten

"I enjoyed this music very much, beautifull music and wonderfull

playing!!!"

Jeff Richman

Gianfranco Continenza has crafted an all-original
gem of contemporary playing and composing here. 

It is refreshing to hear so much original creativity,

great improvisation and ensemble work in one place.

Continenza's new disc it is a fresh new contibution to the

lexicon of modern fusion jazz".


Richard Smith

"Gianfranco’s CD The Past Inside the Present is a wonderful mixture of cool,
twisting melodic lines, heart, energy, drive and monster playing!"

Michael Manring

“I found Gianfranco’s music well worked in the compositions; I mean it is not only standards played straght- ahead... the CD sounds good... the repertoire is varied...

there are some beautiful lyrical ballad mixed with powerful tunes, a wonderful collaboration of Bill Evans...”

Dominique Di Piazza

"It was a refreshing to hear this ensemble.  There is just not enough music
of this level being heard these days comming from all the musician's on this CD.
I was very impressed with the high level of musicianship and the very
original compositions. There are no weak links in this unparalleled package."
Phil Upchurch

"As a huge fan of contemporary jazz-fusion, I was pleasantly surprised when I put on the CD “The Past Inside the Present” by Gianfranco Continenza. Frankly I as amazed that players in Italy were playing that style of music at such a high level. The compositions were very interesting and Gianfranco’s guitar playing was full of energy, exploration and sheer chops. He has come a long was since our days together at GIT in Hollywood where he studied music in the early ‘90’s. And Gianfranco’s choices of musicians to accompany him on this recording effort are first-rate players including jazz sax virtuoso Bill Evans. This would be a fun band to see play live. But listening to the CD in my car here in rainy Seattle will do just fine."
Don Mock

"Uncompromised writing and passionate performances...  very well done!!!"

Otmaro Ruiz

"Gianfranco has amazing chops and is a wonderful composer as well..His new CD is a Killer""""""""
VIC JUris

It's been done the Jacoland - Heaven Jazz - Gianfranco Continenza Signature, completely hand made guitar, a really versatile guitar, you can play from Jazz to Rock, it will be presented at the MEET Music Expo of Milan, Italy on september 21/22/23/24, already avaible by order (www.jacoland.it). To know more about that click here:

http://www.jacoland.it/gianfranco continenza.htm

 

 

 

 

Gianfranco Continenza – guitar

Stefano D’Anna - sax

 Maurizio Rolli - bass

 Dante Melena – drums

Angelo Trabucco - keyboards

 

Gianfranco Continenza, guitarist and composer is born in Turin (Italy) on the 1st of february 1968, he started to play guitar when he was 8 years old thanks to his father Nino Continenza, jazz guitar player.

He studied classical music for 5 years, then developping the study of the modern guitar (jazz, fusion, blues, rock...) and playing with local bands.

He is graduated with 100% score at G.I.T. (Guitar Institute of Technology) in Hollywood, California in september 1992 specialized in many music styles (jazz, fusion, blues, R&B, latin, funky, rock…) studing with Joe Diorio, Don Mock, Scott Henderson, Ron Eschéte, Howard Roberts, Peter Sprague, Gary Willis, Jeff Berlin, Jamie Findlay, Jeff Richman, Tommy Tedesco, Mike Miller, ecc.

On 1994 he founded, with his twin-brother Giuseppe, the P.M.I. (Professional Musicians Institute) and later on 1998 the C.M.A. (Contemporary Music Academy) in Pescara, with students coming from all the parts of Italy where he’s teaching jazz guitar.

He played with many world famous artists like Bill Evans, Joe Diorio, Jeff Richman, Scott Kinsey, Jamie Findlay, Barrett Tagliarino, Richard Smith, John Stowell, Cathy Segal-Garcia…

On april 2000 he recorded a live CD "Live at Kabala Jazz Club" with Pippo Matino on bass and Ernesttico on percussions.

He’s doing lot of gigs in the jazz club around in Italy with the “Gianfranco Continenza Quartet” (Stefano D’Anna – sax, Maurizio Rolli – bass and Dante Melena – drums) playing original compositions and standards, this fall will be out a new CD of electric jazz of his compositions: “The past inside the present” with Bill Evans on sax and Scott Kinsey on piano.

He's got a column of jazz guitar on the national site: jazzitalia

Stefano D’Anna, tenor and soprano sax, performed and/or recorded with:
 Nico Morelli, Akio Sasajima, Harvie S, David Berkman, Fulvio Buccafusco, Atanas Popov, Emmanuel Bex, Ben Monder, Fabrizio Sferra, JoAnne Brackeen, Pietro Ciancaglini, Lorenzo Tucci, Pietro Lussu, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Salvatore Bonafede, Francesco Puglisi, Pietro Iodice, Cinzia Spata, Davide Pettirossi, Lanfranco Malaguti, Umberto Fiorentino, Roberto Gatto, Enzo Pietropaoli, Enrico Pieranunzi, Mimmo Cafiero, Diederik Wissels, Stefano Sabatini, Dario Deidda, Pietro Condorelli, Giovanni Tommaso, Ettore Fioravanti, Paolo Damiani, Stefano Battaglia, Massimo Manzi, Fabio Zeppetella, Enrico Bracco, Sandro Gibellini, Fabrizio Bosso, Rodrigo Gonçalves, Bruno Pedroso, Nelson Cascais, Antonio Zambrini, Beppe Caruso, Tito Mangialajo, Ferdinando Faraò, Vito Di Modugno, Norma Winstone, Sheila Jordan, Sarah Jane Morris. Formed the D’Anna Trio in 1991 with Enzo Pietropaoli and Fabrizio Sferra. This trio completed a recording titled "Leapin' in", which won him unanimous appraisal from the critics all over Italy and got rave reviews abroad and in the USA. "Leapin' in" has also been included in "The Penguin Guide to CD, LP & Cassettes", obtaining a four stars rating, i.e. the maximum available. In 1992 D’Anna has won the yearly critics poll "Top Jazz", held by the Italian magazine "Musica Jazz", resulting first in the category "Best New Talent". In 1998 his CD "Carousel" has been rated "Best Italian Jazz CD" by Basimedia Magazine and it has also been included in "The Penguin Guide to CD's", obtaining a three stars rating. In 2005 his CD "Runa" has also been included in the seventh edition of "The Penguin Guide to CD's", obtaining a three and a half stars rating. Appeared with his own band and as a featured soloist in various Jazz Festivals and clubs all over Europe, in Milan, Bologna, Vignola, Karlowy Vary, Prague, Grénoble, Rome, Géneve, Gorizia, Porto, Fano, Lisbon, Braga, Loures, Marinha Grande, Aosta, Marsala, Cracow, Paris, Como, Nantes, Roccella Jonica, Coimbra, Atina, Madeira, Terni, Ancona, Ferrara.

Maurizio Rolli, bass, and double bass. He collaborated with: Jim Hall, Scott Colley, Diane Shuur, Adam Makovicz, Russel Gloyd, Claude Barthelemy, Paolo Fresu, Ettore Fioravanti, Paolo Damiani, Pino Minafra, Roberto Ottaviano, Marco Tamburini, Javier Girotto, Fabrizio Bosso, Giorgio Gaslini, Antonio Onorato, Francesco d'Errico, Feyez and Faso (from "Elio e le Storie Tese"), Lucio Fabbri.
He took part to the international festivals of Pescara Jazz (1986, 1997, 1998), Volterra, Noci, Lucca (1996,1997), Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano, Acoustic festival di Pescara, Massenzio di Roma (as a representative of the Associazione Nazionale Musicisti Jazz), Gezziamoci of Matera, Roccella Jonica '96 and '98, Romantici Risvegli di L'Aquila, Noci '96, Tagliacozzo '96, Eufonia (Roseto), Interamnia Jazz Festival, Bottesini Basso Festival di Crema '98.
In 1998 a CD with his own name (in a duo with Diana Torto, a singer) called "Norwegian Mood" (Philology W 124.2) was published, produced by Paolo Piangiarelli and with the collaboration of Roberto Ottaviano (soprano sax), Paolo Damiani (cello) and Filiberto Palermini (alto sax).
He is the leader and the main composer of the duo, of the trio, of the quartet born from the "Norwegian Mood" project, and also of the "Archivi Sonori" quintet.

Dante Melena, drums, it starts to study drums by himself. In 1985 he moved to Rome where for three years he was studing drums at the “Saint Louis Jazz School” with some of the best italian musicians, like Ettore Fioravanti, Bruno Tommaso, Eddy Palermo, ecc. In 1988 he participated to a cilnic with Steve Gadd and in 1989 he attended to the “Jazz University” of Terni and he plays a tour with the italian singer Lena Biolcati. In March of 1990 he attended to the “Drummers Collective” of New York doing a Master Classes with Dave Weckl, Gregg Bissonette, Zack Dazinger, Kim Plainfield, Marvin Smitty Smith, Ricky Sebastian, Frank Malabe, Deduca Fonseca e Bob Weiner. From 1993 to 1995 he follow the winter class of “C.P.M. of Siena Jazz” playin with Battista Leda, Paolina Dalla Porta, Danilo Rea e Klaus Lesmann whom he partecipated to the “Jazz Festival of Forte dei Marmi in 1995”. On 1996 he studing with Steve Houghton, Joe Porcaro, Enzo Todesco, Virgil Donati and Terry Bozzio in Los Angeles, California. From Agoust 2003 he’s in tour with the Kelly Joyce sextet. In 2006 He’s teaching drums to the C.M.A. (Contemporary Music Academy) in Pescara.