Antonio Moretti
Double bass player, composer, arranger
Education:
Degree in double bass – Conservatory Pedrollo, Vicenza (1992)
Bachelor’s degree in Jazz – Conservatory Bonporti, Trento (2004)
Master degree in Jazz – Conservatory Steffani, Castelfranco V.to (2009)
Fourth year composition – Conservatory Steffani, Castelfranco V.to (2013)
Master degree in Film Composition – Conservatory Vanezze Rovigo (2020)
He started his concert career in the ’80, playing all over Italy with several ensembles.
In 1991 he competed in many contests with the jazz-rock group Zebù, always classifying in first place. In the same year he held several concerts at some important Italian clubs with the Scottish singer Jean Rich (former Wall Street Crash).
He later founded his own quintet, with whom he held musical performances all over Italy and abroad, in order to present the CD which included his own compositions.
The year 2003 was full of initiatives: amongst them it is worth remembering the concert with John Surman at the Festival of Trento, the publication of a CD, conceived at the Conservatory of Trento, on music by Ellington; a tour in Germany with Frank De Franceschi’s blues trio and, finally, a tour in Sicily with the Gospel Times, playing at the Politeama Theatre in Palermo and at the Taormina Theatre. In the same year he started a collaboration with the American guitarist Garrison Fewell.
Between 2005 and 2008, he was the Artistic Director of the Festival “Camminando tra le Note”, a series of concerts held at Monte Pasubio, in collaboration with “Comunità Montana Alto Vicentino”.
In 2006, on the occasion of W.A. Mozart’s birthday, he created the project “MozArt Ensemble”, a formation of 12 musicians who reworked the Magic Flute in jazz style, and who, the following year, released the CD “Amadeus Lives!”.In 2007 he was co-founder of Accademia Musicale in Schio, of which he bacame President and where he has been teaching electric bass, double bass, harmony and history of music; he also started his collaboration with the Dutch singer Elisabeth Geel.
In 2009 he took part, as a musician and composer, in the futurist opera L’Incendiario Elettrico, produced by the Conservatory of Castelfranco Veneto, which was released on DVD, while in the following year he played with trumpeter Markus Stockhausen in the Sinergy project, based on the collective improvisation of a variable number of musicians. He founded the duo A Bassa Voce, consisting of a voice and an electric bass, holding numerous concerts in jazz clubs in the North of Italy. He also took part, as a composer and arranger, in the project Gli Alchemici Alambicci di Orfeo, produced by the Conservatory of Castelfranco Veneto;
In 2012 he became the Artistic Director of the jazz festival La Fabbrica Del Jazz, which was presented for the first time in April the same year.
In the next year, with the project A Bassa Voce, he created “Una Cometa”. The musicians, who gave a personal touch to the production, are Javier Girotto (sax soprano), Fabrizio Gaudino (trumpet and Flugehorn) and Luca Nardon (percussions). The real novelty was the presence of the string-orchestra of Accademia Musicale di Schio in 9 of the 10 pieces included in the album, which also contains two original pieces by Toni Moretti.
He played, amongst others, with:
Jonh Surman, Markus Stockhausen, Javier Girotto, Rita Marcotulli, Greg Burk, Garrison Fewell, Carol Sudhalter, Frank Vignola, Darell Hill, Yojce Yuille, Christina Lux, Knagui Damon Knagui, Jean Rich, Paolo Birro, Alfonso Santimone, Bruno Cesselli.
As for the classical field, he accompanied some of the most important soloists with the Orchestra of Accademia Musicale.
He publishd several CDs of which he was composer and arrange:
- Easy Way – 1995 (MP Records)
- Umbria – 2000 (Intersound music)
- Entrèe – 2003 (Ed Pagina 3)
- Yes I Will – 2005 (Splas(h) Records
- Amadeus Lives!! – 2007
- Elisabeth Geel jazz quartet & Orchestra – 2009
- A Bassa Voce – 2011
- Una Cometa – 2013 (Maya Records)
