PMJO
PARCO DELLA MUSICA JAZZ ORCHESTRA

“The PMJO Orchestra is probably the best Italian orchestra on the scene today.”
Adriano Mazzoletti – Il Tempo

“Rome the jazz capital has its own repertory orchestra: the PMJO is the first project of this kind in the country, and an unequivocal sign of the extraordinary relationship that has developed between jazz and the city. It’s the Parco della Musica that has brought the orchestra to life and got it playing, becoming a focal point, and a reference point.”
Marco Molendini – Il Messaggero

“They are very cool. People are so cool here at the Auditorium!”
 Mike Stern

“I look forward to playing with these great musicians in Rome soon.”
Uri Caine

THE ORCHESTRA MEMBERS

Maurizio Giammarco general director and conductor, arrangements, saxophones
Mario Corvini, Pino Iodice arrangements

Gianni Oddi, Daniele Tittarelli alto sax, soprano sax, clarinets and flutes
Marco Conti, Gianni Savelli tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinets and flutes
Elvio Ghigliordini baritone sax, clarinet and flute
Fernando Brusco, Claudio Corvini, Giancarlo Ciminelli, Aldo Basso trumpets and flugelhorns
Mario Corvini, Massimo Pirone, Luca Giustozzi, Roberto Pecorelli trombones, euphonium and tuba
Pino Iodice piano, keyboards, Fender Rhodes
Luca Pirozzi double bass, electric bass
Pietro Iodice drums

HISTORY AND PROJECTS TO DATE

The PMJO Parco della Musica Jazz Orchestra, the Musica per Roma Foundation’s orchestra in residence at the Auditorium, is a permanent musical laboratory where myriad influences are blended, all of them deriving from a close look at  the great tradition of orchestral jazz, starting from the Kansas City bands, spanning bebop and the American and European avantgardes and arriving at our own day. That tradition includes the variations of the ethnic music from far-off lands like Africa and the kinds to be found much closer to home, in our great multicultural metropolises; but also echoes of contemporary classical music, encounters with the great musicians of the past, by way of the reinterpretation or reworking of their works; or with musicians of the present day, by means of a continual collaboration; a blend of influences leavened by the new music forms and emerging international stars that cross our path, and fortified by the cohesion and vitality of an exceptional team of orchestra members.

The PMJO made its debut in July 2005, with a concert dedicated to Brazilian music that was very well received by the public (3,000 spectators filled the outdoor Cavea at the Auditorium); and concert by concert, month by month, audiences have become more and more enamoured of the PMJO programme.

The PMJO Parco della Musica Orchestra is composed of a main body of 17 members, around which an entire musical community revolves, whose members are called on, event by event, to enrich the orchestra’s timbre and expressive power. The current leader of the group is the saxophonist and composer, Maurizio Giammarco, a legendary name in Italian jazz, and indefatigable driving force behind initiatives since the late 1970s, such as the Quercia del Tasso project that he headed, involving Roswell Rudd, Steve lacy, Kent Carter and many others); fertile, ongoing exchanges with musicians from across the Atlantic with whom he has collaborated intensively, like Chet Baker, Lester Bowie, and Dave Liebman; Giammarco was also the leader of Lingomania, perhaps the most famous band of the 1980s, and he has repeatedly discovered fresh musical talents as well.

Up to now, in a single season since its founding, the PMJO has performed thirty concerts at the Auditorium Parco della Musica or elsewhere, focusing on four main projects: the “Original Productions,” for which the conductor calls on Italian and foreign guest artists to collaborate or even perform; “Jazz Podium,” orginal productiosn conducted by leading international band leaders; “Jazz Focus,” dedicated to well-known musicians’ big band arrangements; and “Jazz Memories,” performances of the classic repertoire spanning the history of jazz.
Among the projects that the PMJO has presented in performance are a fresh version of “Sketches of Spain – Sketches of Miles,” in a concert dedicated to Miles Davis and Gil Evans; tributes to great Italian jazz musicians like Franco Piana and Marcello Rosa; and the tribute to the music of Thad Jones which reintroduced the repertoire of one of the greatest conductors and one of the most famous orchestras of all time. The PMJO has also performed in concert its original “Song Book,” made up of pieces by its conductor, Maurizio Giammarco; its trombonist, Mario Corvini; its drummer, Pietro Iodice; and pianist, Pino Iodice; as well as its “Mega BB Tones” project, with David “Fuze” Fiuczynski and Daniele Formica; an orginal project devoted to Italian songs with Cinzia Tedesco and Frankier Lovecchio and another devoted to Neapolitan songs with the singer Raiz; as well as a tribute to music for cinema with Marco Tiso and a reworking of pieces from the Argentinian musical tradition for big band, with Javier Girotto.

The orchestra has welcomed guest artists at the forefront of international jazz like Mike Stern, special guest of an evening event and tribute to Miles Davis’ “electric” period; or Kenny Wheeler, whose original works the PMJO has performed with the participation of Norma Winstone. Recently the orchestra has taken part in the Roma Jazz Festival together with Roberto Gatto, Enzo Pietropaoli and Eugenio Colombo on the occasion of an Italian jazz special reunion, as well as performing a tribute to women in jazz with vocalist Alan Ferrington. In addition the PMJO’s woodwind and brass have performed with drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez’ quartet. And conducted by Gianni Ferrio, the PMJO has accompanied great artists such as Mina, Lucio Dalla and Gianni Morandi in an evening event and tribute to Lelio Luttazzi. It has also presented a tribute to the great Count Basie. For the Christmas holidays the PMJO put together a special programme dedicated to animated films for children.

The PMJO has performed at numerous festivals: the Ciampino Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz, Civita Castellana Jazz, and the Festival di Vulci, and it was chosen by Uri Caine, artistic director of the 28th edition of Bergamo Jazz, to close the important event with an orchestra project written and conducted by Martial Solal.