Paolo Damiani

Paolo Damiani, an Italian jazz bassist, cellist, composer, and conductor born in Rome in 1952, has appeared on recordings and concert stages alongside numerous established figures and ensembles, among them Albert Mangelsdorff, Kenny Wheeler, Tony Oxley, Miroslav Vitous, Charlie Mariano, John Surman, the Pentarte Contemporary Music Group, the Italian Instabile Orchestra, the Italian String Trio, and his own band and quintet.

After majoring in instrument and composition, he received a diploma in jazz music and double bass. Conducting engagements began for him in the late 1970s, followed by commissions to write for radio and theater. His jazz output, which ranges across avant-garde and big band formats to post-bop and free jazz, relies on intricate arrangements and instruments rarely heard in the idiom.

Damiani co-established the Testaccio Music School and the Italian Musicians Committee to promote musical learning and to offer emerging players opportunities to refine their craft. He taught at both the Milan Conservatory and the I'Aquila Conservatory while also launching the IS Ensemble, a twenty-piece national youth jazz orchestra.

Roccellanea marked his first album in 1983. By the late 1980s he had joined the Splasch Records roster, releasing Poor Memory in 1987; Eso and Song Tong followed, the latter including the tracks “You Make Me Feel Loved,” “Zero,” and “The Balkan Legend.” A self-titled album with the IS Ensemble also appeared under his name.