Aldo Romano

Although born in Italy, Aldo Romano relocated to France alongside his family while still a child. Already working as a professional guitarist and drummer in Paris during the 1950s, he encountered Donald Byrd’s ensemble featuring drummer Arthur Taylor, an experience that prompted his exclusive focus on drumming and contemporary jazz. In venues such as le Chat Qui Pêche and the Caméléon, he backed visiting Americans including Jackie McLean, Bud Powell, Lucky Thompson, J.J. Johnson, and Woody Shaw, and simultaneously delved into free improvisation alongside Don Cherry, Gato Barbieri, Frank Wright, Bobby Few, Michel Portal, François Tusques, Jean-Louis Chautemps, and Steve Lacy. His wide-ranging interest in vital musical forms led him, during the 1970s, to electric jazz at the Riverbop, where he performed with longtime collaborator and bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark as well as François Jeanneau, Henri Texier, Charlie Mariano, and Philip Catherine. Romano’s debut album under his own name appeared in 1978 as Il Piacere on OWL, recorded with Claude Barthélémy; this was followed by Night Diary in 1980, featuring Didier Lockwood and Jasper Van’t Hof, and Alma Latina in 1983, again with Philip Catherine. That same year he brought pianist Michel Petrucciani to public notice by introducing him to the producer at Owl Records. His Italian heritage found expression in the Italian Quartet, formed with Paolo Fresu, Franco D’Andrea, and Furio Di Castri; the group documented To Be Ornette to Be and Water Dreams for Owl, then Non Dimenticar, a set of Italian songs, for Verve. Palatino—its name drawn from the Rome–Paris overnight train—likewise includes Fresu, joined by trombonist Glen Ferris. The 2001 Verve release Intervista unites bassist Palle Danielsson, saxophonist Stefano di Battista, and Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras in a survey of Romano’s career that encompasses Ornette Coleman-ish pieces, Latin-American compositions, and operatic arias; a bonus disc offers an engaging spoken interview.