Antonio Cocomazzi - Notturno (2021)

Graduated from Conservatories of Foggia and Pescara with degrees in Composition and Piano, he has won thirteen national and international competitions, as well as 6 second prizes, in performances of his own compositions.
As composer/pianist he recorded eight CDs. The most recent of them, “Restart” (’18), has been realized with the saxophonist Mario Marzi and the cellist Giovanni Sollima wrote “is a very compact work, a great performance […], a story that you just want to listen again!” Ennio Morricone about the CD “Antonio Cocomazzi Project” wrote: “…an outstanding work, […] original in its forms and musical content […]”. In 97 he recorded “Suite for Friends”, a work half way between classical music and jazz, which was presented by Giorgio Gaslini who wrote in the sleeve note: “his music and his piano playing are of an exceptional quality”. RAI Trade subsequently published Nonostante tutto (“06), realized with saxophone player Mario Marzi, and Pensieri (“08), a CD including piano and string quartet and piano compositions. In 2014 he recorded “True colors”, published by Heristal Entertainment, realized with multi-instrumentalist player Pericle Odierna.
Among his numerous compositions (over 250 works ranging from chamber to orchestral music, from solo piano to compositions for choir and orchestra), performed in Italy and in seventeen other countries, of particular
importance was the world premiere of “Messa da Requiem” (in “99 at San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy) for two sopranos, tenor, bass, chorus and orchestra, composed in memory of Padre Pio and the Opera Ramleela performed in 2014 at New Dheli (India) in an interesting merger between opera and music, dance and indian theater. Antonio Cocomazzi performs his own original compositions and they are “crossover” music, a multi-faceted and authentic sound canvas that embrace the jazz and classical musical worlds in a natural fusion of elements. At the base of this stylistic sphere, we find structures that have ties from academic circles but have matured into their own personal language, and are also open to improvisation and ””stylistic”” contamination. The musical atmosphere is enjoyable and it has great communicative impact, contributing to the composer’s intent to reach a wide listening audience without compromising the high artistic standards of the project. It is arduous to attempt to label a compositionally personal style or to place it in a niche in today”s musical jungle. What counts is that music, no matter what stylistic clothing it dons, possesses a grand and special virtue, and that is to make anyone and everyone dream.
Teacher at the Conservatories of Potenza, Palermo and Bari, he currently teaches Harmony Theory and Analysis at the “U. Giordano” Conservatory of Foggia.