Ada Rovatti

Ada Rovatti, an Italian-born tenor saxophonist, navigates jazz as both improviser and composer across acoustic post-bop, funk, and contemporary idioms. She surfaced in New York during the early 2000s, fronting her own ensembles while also working in big bands. Several of her small-group albums spotlight her husband, trumpeter Randy Brecker: Under the Hat from 2003, Airbop from 2005, and Disguise from 2014. The pair foregrounded their shared work on 2019’s Brecker Plays Rovatti: Sacred Bond, and 2024’s The Hidden World of Piloo paired Rovatti with vocalists including Kurt Elling.

Born in Pavia, Lombardi, Italy, Rovatti began on piano with classical training before taking up tenor saxophone in high school. Her progress secured a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied with saxophonist George Garzone; she continued returning to Italy to lead groups and appear in big bands. After her studies she lived a year in Paris, touring Europe and Africa before relocating to New York City. Her sideman credits encompass Miroslav Vitous, John McLaughlin, James Moody, Anne Ducros, Victor Bailey, Joanne Brackeen, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin, and numerous others.

She stepped out as leader with 2003’s Under the Hat, a hard-bop small-group date that featured guitarist Mike Stern, percussionist Don Alias, and trumpeter Randy Brecker, whom she had first met in the late ’90s and married in 2001. Also in 2003 she introduced her funk- and fusion-oriented Elephunk Band on For Rent and appeared on Brecker’s Grammy-winning 34thN Lex. Two years later Airbop arrived, setting driving acoustic post-bop compositions beside funkier contemporary pieces and again including Brecker, Alias, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, and additional guests.

With 2009’s Green Factor she enlarged her palette by folding Celtic traditions into sophisticated jazz and fusion harmonies. The more conventional hard-bop album Disguise, released in 2014, placed Brecker alongside pianists Leo Genovese and Oli Rockberger, bassist Janek Gwizdala, and drummer Dana Hawkins. Brecker Plays Rovatti: Sacred Bond, a contemporary jazz recording issued in 2019, incorporated vocals by the couple’s daughter Stella Brecker. In 2024 Rovatti released her seventh album, The Hidden World of Piloo, again mixing post-bop and contemporary sounds with vocalists Niki Haris, Fay Claassen, Alma Naidu, Kurt Elling, and trumpeter Brecker.