About Rhapsody for Billie" Schiaffini says, It is not a celebration. We just tried to touch Holiday's meaning of pain, of joy. I chose some of Lady Day's most famous and characteristic songs and rearranged and revised them according to our sensibility. The songs are interspersed with acted solos for voice, an imaginary Holiday stream of consciousness. The piece should be considered a living performance, using free improvisation, and images based on original photographs of Billie and her life are intrinsic to this work on stage."
Schiaffini is one of Italy's most important contemporary composers and is renowned for his trombone and tuba virtuosity. Associated with breakthrough bands such as the well known Italian Instabile Orchestra (including award-winning film composer, Ennio Morricone), and the Gruppo Romano Free Jazz in the 1960s, Schiaffini's playing and compositional skills have altered the new music landscape with the expressiveness of his tuba and trombone, his imaginative use of electronic elements, and improvisational technique.
He was born in Rome in 1942 and graduated in Physics at the University of Rome in 1965. Self-taught, he appeared as soloist in the first free-jazz concerts in Italy and subsequently presented his own compositions widely beginning in the 1960s. In 1970 he studied at Darmstadt with Stockhausen, Ligeti, and Globakar and formed the contemporary chamber ensemble Nuove Forme Sonore. He also worked with Franco Evangelisti in 1972 and has since collaborated with the Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza until 1983. In 1975 he founded the Gruppo Romano di Ottoni performing Renaissance and Contemporary music. At present he teaches at the Conservatorio A. Casella" in l'Aquila and at the Summer Courses of Siena Jazz. He also teaches Contemporary Music, Jazz and Improvisation in clinics and seminars around the world. He has been recording since 1973 and his music has been published by BMG, Curci, Edipan, and Ricordi. His treatise on contemporary trombone technique is published by Ricordi.
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