Extraordinary Italian pianist
Antonio Faraó was born in Rome in 1965. He attended the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan in the '80s, where he refined his musical gifts.
Faraó began cultivating his profound love of jazz at clubs when he was only in his teens. Even then, those around him didn't miss the natural talent for piano the young man had been blessed with.
Faraó started touring at an early age, playing festivals like Lugano, Merano, Lyon, Umbria Jazz, Palermo, and many others. In 1987, at only 22, he won the New Talent Prize at the X1 Music Review. Four years later, he was voted Pianist of the Year, winning the Four Roses Prize. In 1998, he was invited to enter into the international competition for the Concours Martial Solal.
Faraó came away as the winner. In 1999, he saw the release of his debut album, Black Inside, on the Enja Records label. Bassist
Ira Coleman and drummer
Jeff "Tain" Watts accompanied
Faraó's piano work. With post-bop tracks like "Latin Dance," "Sweet," and "My One and Only Love," the album combined a Mediterranean touch with the African-American jazz styling that
Faraó became known for. A sophomore effort titled Thorn followed in early 2001.
As
Faraó's reputation grew he was able to attract several jazz heavy-hitters to the studio, resulting in albums with saxophonist
Bob Berg (2002's
Far Out), bassist
Miroslav Vitous (2005's
Takes on Pasolini), and drummer
Andre Ceccarelli (2008's
Woman's Perfume and 2011s
Domi). He then paired with saxophonist
Joe Lovano, bassist
Ira Coleman, and drummer
Jack DeJohnette for 2014's Evan. A year later,
Faraó made his
Verve label debut with
Boundaries, which featured several of his longtime Italian collaborators including saxophonist/drummer
Mauro Negri and bassist
Martin Gjakonovski. In 2017, he returned with
Eklektik, which featured contributions from rapper
Snoop Dogg, vocalist
Walter Ricci, drummer
Manu Katché, guitarist
Bireli Lagrene, and others.~ Charlotte Dillon