Manuele Montanari - Movie Medley. Il Grande Jazz a Cinecittà (2020)

«The passion for jazz and cinema has led me to pay homage to the jazz music that has been the backdrop for high-profile Italian films. Masterpieces of the big screen recognized as such thanks to their soundtracks », underlines Manuele Montanari in the cover notes. «There is in fact an important common thread that unites all the feature films from which I drew the musical material for the realization of this project. It is that ever-present union between great directors and great composers: Monicelli-Umiliani, Risi-Ortolani, Visconti-Rota, Bertolucci-Barbieri, Tornatore-Morricone just to name a few », continues the musician. «Trying to work rather well known and composed for famous films has immediately revealed the need to re-propose each composition in a slightly different key. I therefore embraced the idea of ​​organizing the arrangements in the form of Medley, joining the various pieces in the absence of a real continuity solution. In order to obtain a single soundtrack, made up of compositions from different authors and films. With the wish to bring to the attention of the general public some of the major cornerstones of Italian jazz, revisited in the unusual Suite-Medley guise ".

Double bass player, electric bassist and arranger, Manuele Montanari graduated in 2008 in double bass at the State Conservatory of Music "G. Rossini ”of Pesaro. At the same time he attends improvisation and ensemble music courses held by Massimo Morganti. In July 2006 he took part in the "Umbria Jazz" seminars and obtained a scholarship for the "Berklee College of Music" in Boston, where he studied with Dave Clark, Dave Weigert, Esperanza Spalding, Barry Smith, Mitch Haupers, Paul Elmen . In October 2008 he was in the final in the Jazz category at the "Enfly Bass '08" double bass competition held in Paris. He participates in improvisation and ensemble seminars held by Kenny Wheeler, Fabio Zeppetella, Maurizio Giammarco and Larry Grenadier. In 2010/11 he joined Raphael Gualazzi's band for the "Reality and Fantasy Tour", holding important concerts in Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. In 2012 he attended the Masterclass in Arrangement and Orchestration held by M ° Gian Marco Gualandi, as part of the "High Improvement Summer Courses", organized by the Dante Alighieri school in Bertinoro (FC). In 2012 he graduated in "Jazz Arrangement" at the "G. Rossini “of Pesaro under the guidance of the Masters Bruno Tommaso, Gianmarco Gualandi and Stefania Tallini. In 2013 he recorded the album "On The A Train", with the jazz orchestra "Bad Gang Big Band", entirely dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington. The album is published by the "Notami Jazz" label. With the same formation he also holds some concerts in Portugal. In 2014 he recorded the album "Going Nowhere", by the young saxophonist and composer Milo Lombardi (www.milolombardi.com). In 2017 he released "In a Few Minutes", the album that sees him involved in the roles of double bass, composer and arranger, together with guitarist Diego Donati. The album is published on the "Notami Jazz" label.
In 2019 he recorded the album "Jazzy Mike Around the World" by trumpeter Michele Samory, published by "Alman Music / Cose Sonore". He played with Pietro Tonolo, Fabrizio Bosso, Raphael Gualazzi, Massimo Manzi, Massimo Morganti, Fabio Petretti, Stefano Paolini, Andrea Marcelli, Rossano Emili, Simone La Maida, Samuele Garofoli, Massimiliano Rocchetta, Emilio Marinelli.

The Dodicilune label, founded by Gabriele Rampino and Maurizio Bizzochetti, has been active since 1996 and has a catalog of over 250 productions by Italian and foreign artists. Distributed in stores in Italy and abroad by IRD, Dodicilune discs can also be purchased online, listened to and downloaded on the world's major platforms thanks to Believe Digital.