Giovanni Guidi, an Italian jazz pianist recognized widely across Europe, leads bands and often collaborates as a sideman alongside trumpeter Enrico Rava. Whether functioning as a soloist or providing accompaniment, Guidi delivers a nuanced yet precise touch, moving fluidly from angular solos that span deliberate rubato passages to rapid, upper-register flights reminiscent of arias, all the way to robust comping within swinging rhythms. The 2011 release We Don't Live Here Anymore, issued by Italy's Cam label, highlighted his resourceful and multifaceted approach to composition. In 2015, This Is the Day presented his international trio—comprising bassist Thomas Morgan from New York and drummer João Lobo from Portugal—demonstrating their complex interplay in rhythms and harmonies drawn from free jazz and expressionist works.
Born in Foligno, Guidi began piano studies at an early age and committed to the instrument as his exclusive pursuit. Ramberto Ciammarughi served as his principal instructor from school through conservatory training. Participation in summer seminars drew the attention of Rava, who invited him into one of the trumpeter's celebrated "Under 21" ensembles. Guidi documented live performances with this group on two albums for the Editoriale l'Espresso label, one in 2006 and another in 2009. He subsequently contributed to a pair of Rava's ECM recordings, Tribe from 2010 and On the Dance Floor from 2012. Additional sideman appearances include sessions with saxophonist Mauro Negri, guitarist Roberto Cecchetto, and drummers Tommaso Cappellato and Fabrizio Sferra. Guidi has also performed as part of Gianluca Petrella's Cosmic Band on two of their releases.
At age 21, Guidi issued his first leader date, Tomorrow Never Knows, in 2006 on the Venus label. A succession of well-received Cam Jazz projects followed, beginning with two self-titled quartet recordings from 2007 and 2008. In 2010 he unveiled his initial large-ensemble effort, The Unknown Rebel Band, shaped by the precedents of Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite band, and the Carla Bley Big Band. His first New York session, We Don't Live Here Anymore, appeared in 2011 and featured Petrella, drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist Thomas Morgan, and saxophonist Michael Blake. That same year Guidi joined the ECM roster; his debut for the imprint, City of Broken Dreams, arrived as a trio recording with Morgan and longtime drummer João Lobo in June 2013. Another trio album for ECM, This Is the Day, followed in 2015. The next year he recorded the quartet project Ida Lupino—named after the Carla Bley composition placed at its center—with trombonist Gianluca Petrella, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and clarinettist Louis Sclavis. Following a tour, Guidi reconvened the Morgan/Lobo trio, expanding it into a quintet by adding saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti and guitarist Roberto Cecchetto for the 2019 album Avecs Le Temps. Bookending the set are two trio pieces: an opening cover of the late French singer and songwriter Léo Ferré, and a closing elegy for Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko. The intervening selections, performed by the full quintet, consist of compositions by Guidi or collective improvisations.
