“Jazz is love; music that comes from the sky, it’s important to put your heart into it, play a few notes as if they were a poem. There are people who speak a lot and convey very little, while others tell you everything in a few words: that is our music and to perform it is one of the most delightful experiences life has to offer.” With these words with which Nunzio Rotondo, an internationally acclaimed Jazz expert, greeted Radioscrigno and Twilight Music when the idea of creating the CD you are holding in your hand was born. The undertaking of selecting and compiling the material for this CD with Nunzio Rotondo was a great pleasure. Some of us remember him from times gone by while others might remember his famous radio shows. His Appuntamento con Nunzio Rotondo has served to educate jazz enthusiasts and introduced young listeners to a new territory of music. The material on this CD has been selected from the countless radio shows that Nunzio Rotondo performed for RAI playing his trumpet and accompanied by many other extraordinary musicians. Nunzio Rotondo’s style was totally unique because it is not directly influenced by the famous musicians that he admired so much. His sound is the result of the many hours studying and getting acquainted with his instrument. This compilation covers sixteen years of career and one cannot help admiring the beautiful soft sonority and flexible phrasing with a subtle delay over the main tempo, besides of course his creativity. Perhaps the best way to introduce our artist is by quoting the famous jazz critic Franco Mondini who performed with him as a drummer: “Nunzio and Jazz was love at first sighte. Love that lasts for a life time. Rotondo is a sophisticated and erudite musician. He is so refined that his innate virtuosity is made subject to his own censure to an extent that only great musicians can express. His courteous appearance holds within it a great musician that is charged with a warm and authentic spirit. Allow me to say that his story can be put in a nut shell with a simple phrase: A life for Jazz. Rotondo’s phrasing, sound and style has greatly influenced the Italian Jazz of the fifties. Many musicians have followed in his footsteps with great accomplishments but no one has been able to compose the poetic lyrics and unique style of Nunzio Rotondo.” Born from a family of professional musicians at age six he started to study piano and when he was nine he picked up the trumpet. At the age of ten he began to study piano, trumpet and composition at the Conservatory of Rome from which he graduated after achieving his Masters degree in literature. He performed as a solo musician with several jazz orchestras at Radio Roma accompanied by the pianist Armando Travaioli. Between 1948 and 1949 he formed part of jam sessions with Carlo Loffredo and Carlo Pes. Over a short period of time these jam sessions became the main attraction for all lovers of modern jazz that met at “Mario’s”, where he performed with the Be-boppers (Franco Raffaelli, Ettore Crisostomi, Carlo Loffredo and Pepito Pignatelli). In 1949 he formed the Jazz group Hot Club di Roma and met Louis Armstrong for the first time. In 1951 he recorded the music that marks the beginning of the Italian be-bop performing with Duke Ellington, Roy Eldridge, Zoot Sims and Toots Thielemans at the Rome and Milan Jazz Festival. In 1952 he recorded eight other fundamental bops with his group (this time with Gil Cuppini at the drums) performing at the Jazz Festival of Paris and Milan. The second performance at the Salon du Jazz at the Salle Pleyel secured his name amongst those of other renowned international trumpet players. On the night of March 29th 1952 Rotondo was introduced by Charles Delaunaym to perform on the same stage that had hosted musicians like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charley Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis in front of three thousand people. Right after the first song, Stelle Filanti was played for the fist time and destined to become his trademark. His success was established further the next day when the organizers invited the group to perform once more and Gillespie requested to be photographed embracing his Italian colleague. It must be noted that in 1952 Rotondo won the referendum of the magazine “Musica Jazz” as the best trumpet player and one of the most popular musicians. In 1953 he performed on several radio shows recording new songs with a large group featuring Gino Marinacci, Aurelio Ciarallo, Franco De Masi, Vittorio Paltrinieri, Tonino Ferrelli and Gill Cuppini. In 1954 he participated in the Jazz Festival of Modena and recorded eight new songs with Romano Mussolini, Roberto Nicolosi, Giancarlo Barigozzi and Gill Cuppini. In 1955 he met Lionel Hampton who invited him to perform with his big band; unfortunately Nunzio did not have a valid passport. In 1956 he took part in the Jazz Festival of Sanremo and Jazz Festival of Rome playing in a jam session with Chet Baker. The following year he made another appearance in the Jazz Festival of Sanremo performing in concert with Leo Cancellieri, Romano Mussolini, Tonino Ferrelli and Pepito Pignatelli. In 1958 performed at the Jazz Festival of Rome where he won a trophy for the best solo musician of modern jazz. He participated again at the Jazz Festival of Sanremo starting new radio performances with several groups featuring Gino Marinacci, Sal Martirano at the piano, Sergio Biseo on bass and Franco Mondini on drums. In 1959 he performed at Festival of Fregene, with a number of new entries: Raymond Fol, Bibi Rovere, Berto Pisano and sax player Enzo Scoppa who would become an ongoing collaborator. These musicians worked with him on concerts and projects for TV background music. Between 1960 and 1969 he stopped performing in concerts with only two exceptions: October 27, 1965 with a European Big Band of which Albert Mangelsdorff, Martial Solal and N.H.O. Pedersen and December 17, 1966 at “Cancello” di Scandiano together with Enzo Scoppa, Romano Mussolini, Carlo Milano and Franco Tonani. He was awarded the “Diapason d’Oro” which is considered to be one of the most important achievements. He also worked on radio shows with other musicians, including pianists Franco D’Andrea, Joel Vandroogenbroeck, Mal Waldron, sax players Gato Barbieri and Romano Liberatore, bass players Maurizio Majorana, Eric Peter, Dodo Goya, drum players Franco Mondini, Roberto Podio, Pierre Favre and Franco Tonani, singers Lydia McDonald and Gianfranca Montedoro. In April 1969 he introduced Radio Vaticana to Jazz Music; he worked with Piero Piccioni on several soundtrack projects and TV music for programs and documentaries. Between 1970 and 1973 he went back to performing in concerts with the quintet that included Enzo Scoppa on tenor sax, Franco D’Andrea on piano and Bruno Tommaso on bass. They played at the Festivals of Bergamo, Pescara, Padova, achieving tremendous success. In April 1980 he played at the Jazz season of the Conservatory of Milan and the year after he made another appearance at Palermo and Ischia. From the late eighties throughout most of the nineties, Nunzio Rotondo remained loyal to his life style that consisted of many hours of daily studying concerts and radio performances. Between 2000 and 2004 (the year that he returns to perform at the “Alpheus” theatre of Rome) he dedicates himself to composition. This CD has a remarkable value because it is the first CD of Nunzio Rotondo after thirty years. It portrays an extraordinary compilation of lyrics and instrumental works that elevate this trumpet player to a level of international fame in Jazz. The main collaborators performing on this CD are Rotondo’s quartet from the sixties: Franco D’andrea at the piano, Dodo Goya on bass and Franco Mondini on drums. Franco D’Andrea was discovered by Nunzio as well as most of the soloists on this CD. Amongst other names we find the extraordinary pianist and flutist from Belgium Joel Vandroogenbroeck who later formed the famous progressive-jazz band Brainticket. One must also point out the highly acclaimed pianist Mal Waldron, famous partner of Billie Holliday and Gato Barbieri who was not yet influenced by the free jazz but rather by the mood of John Coltrane. Barbieri was performing at the “Purgatorio” a jazz club in the Trastevere district of Rome, once known as the famous restaurant “Meo Patacca”, where you could listen to great jazz. With Rotondo, the composer that would later compose the music for the movie “Last Tango in Paris” music will express a vibrant sound that bears Coltrane influence and a sense of freedom that would mark his career.