Biography
Pasquale Stafano, an Italian pianist, composer, and arranger, blends jazz with modern composition and tango traditions. His path began as a founding member of the Nuevo Tango Ensamble, which issued four albums starting with Astor's Mood in 2002. He later joined forces with composer Jungbum Kim to create music for the 2015 Korean film Chronicle of a Blood Merchant. With former bandmate and bandoneón player Gianni Iorio, Stafano formed a duo that produced Nocturno in 2016 and Mediterranean Tales in 2020. Adding drummer Saverio Gerardi turned the project into a trio whose 2021 release Sparks placed fresh weight on the integration of classical and jazz writing. In his parallel role as an educator, Stafano conducts workshops and master classes internationally and serves as Professor of Jazz Piano at the Conservatory "Umberto Giordano" in Rodi.
Stornarella, Italy, is the town where he was born on December 2, 1972. He completed studies in classical piano and jazz at the Conservatory of Music in Foggia. In 1999 he established the Nuevo Tango Ensamble alongside bandoneón player Gianni Iorio and bassist Pierluigi Balducci. Their first recording, Astor's Mood, came out on the Realsound label in 2002. Captured live at Vienna's Porgy & Bess club, the follow-up A Night in Vienna for Astor Piazzolla appeared on Philology in 2005. Jazzhaus Records issued the next two efforts: Tango Mediterraneo in 2008, which included guest clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi, and D'impulso in 2011, which featured saxophonist Javier Girotto. In 2014 Stafano again worked with Jungbum Kim, supplying two pieces for the Ha Jung-woo film Chronicle of a Blood Merchant.
He rejoined Iorio for the duo album Nocturno, released on Enja Records in May 2016. The following year Sony Classical brought out Hora Cero by 12 Cellists from the Berlin Philharmonic, an album containing several of Stafano's compositions alongside works by Astor Piazzolla and others. Their second duo project, Mediterranean Tales, arrived in January 2020 and contained six compositions prompted by the sea and the role of Italian immigrants in the birth of Argentinian tango. The two musicians quickly reconvened with drummer Saverio Gerardi to record the trio album Sparks, issued by Enja in September 2021; that set shifted away from tango to emphasize contemporary classical and jazz composition, an approach Stafano continued on the 2022 track "Il canto del mare," again with Iorio, and on 2023's "Diamond Bridge."
Stornarella, Italy, is the town where he was born on December 2, 1972. He completed studies in classical piano and jazz at the Conservatory of Music in Foggia. In 1999 he established the Nuevo Tango Ensamble alongside bandoneón player Gianni Iorio and bassist Pierluigi Balducci. Their first recording, Astor's Mood, came out on the Realsound label in 2002. Captured live at Vienna's Porgy & Bess club, the follow-up A Night in Vienna for Astor Piazzolla appeared on Philology in 2005. Jazzhaus Records issued the next two efforts: Tango Mediterraneo in 2008, which included guest clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi, and D'impulso in 2011, which featured saxophonist Javier Girotto. In 2014 Stafano again worked with Jungbum Kim, supplying two pieces for the Ha Jung-woo film Chronicle of a Blood Merchant.
He rejoined Iorio for the duo album Nocturno, released on Enja Records in May 2016. The following year Sony Classical brought out Hora Cero by 12 Cellists from the Berlin Philharmonic, an album containing several of Stafano's compositions alongside works by Astor Piazzolla and others. Their second duo project, Mediterranean Tales, arrived in January 2020 and contained six compositions prompted by the sea and the role of Italian immigrants in the birth of Argentinian tango. The two musicians quickly reconvened with drummer Saverio Gerardi to record the trio album Sparks, issued by Enja in September 2021; that set shifted away from tango to emphasize contemporary classical and jazz composition, an approach Stafano continued on the 2022 track "Il canto del mare," again with Iorio, and on 2023's "Diamond Bridge."
Albums
Singles