Nunzio Rotondo

Nunzio Rotondo (Palestrina, Rome, 1924 / Rome 2009, September 15), a trumpeter and composer, is considered one of the most important Italian jazz musicians. In 1949 he formed the Hot Club Rome sextet with Franco Raffaelli (alto saxophone), Ettore Crisostomi (piano), Carlo Pes (guitar), Carletto Loffredo (bass) and Gilberto "Gil" Cuppini (drums). In the 1950s, he would also be involved in some of the earliest recordings of Bebop in Italy. On the night of March 29th, 1952 Rotondo was introduced by Charles Delaunay for his debut performance at the Salon du Jazz, the Salle Pleyel, the same stage that had hosted musicians such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. He began recording in the 1950s with Gino Marinacci, Aurelio Ciarallo, Vittorio Paltrinieri, Romano Mussolini, Roberto Nicolosi, Berto Pisano, Giancarlo Barigozzi and Pepito Pignatelli, among others. He would also join the ranks of Italian jazz musicians whose music appeared on the Columbia label in the United States. During the 1960s he took a break from performing and recording, instead working on Radio Rai with Franco D'Andrea, Mal Waldron, Gato Barbieri, Maurizio Majorana, Dodo Goya, Roberto Podio, Pierre Favre and Franco Tonani. He also worked with Piero Piccioni on soundtrack projects and TV documentaries. In the early 1970s, he returned to live performing with a new quintet that included Enzo Scoppa (tenor saxophone), D'Andrea (piano), Bruno Tommaso (bass) and Franco Mondini (drums). In his later years, Nunzio's live performances became more and more rare outside of radio performances.