Bio
.
Silvia Bolognesi was born in Siena.
Double bass graduate at the R. Franci Institute in Siena where she studied with Master Andrea Granai.
At the same time she also studied double bass techniques with Master Alberto Bocini at the G.Verdi
Institute in Prato. She became more interested in jazz music in 1998/1999 when she took part at jazz
music courses and summer camps by Siena Jazz where she studied with Master Ferruccio Spinetti,
Furio Di Castri, Ettore Fioravanti, Giancrlo Gazzani.
She also took part at the “high qualification course for jazz players” patronized by the European
Community, studiyng with Furio Di Castri, Mario Raia, Stefano Zenni and Francesco Nartinelli; the
“trio course” with Stefano Battaglia, Paolino Dalla Porta and Fabrizio Sferra; the “music research
workshop” with Stefano Battaglia.
In 2003 she was choosen to be part of the Butch Morris’s orchestra with which she took part in the XIII
Roccella Jonica Festival Edition and in 2010 performed the conduction N.192 “Possible universe” for
te XXV Sant’Anna Arresi Fetival Edition.
She took part in jazz improvisation and composition workshops with Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe
Mitchell and Anthony Braxton; studiyng double bass with William Parker at Sant’Anna Arresi XX
Edition summer camp.
Since 2004 she leads the Open Combo octet with three albums edited “Introducing open combo” and
“What was I sayng?” by the british label 33 Jazz Records and “Large” with the indipendent label
Fonterossa Records, founded and directed by Silvia Bolognesi. Open Combo members are Piero
Bittolo Bon (alto sax and flute), Cristiano Arcelli (soprano sax and alto sax), Rossano Emili (baritone
sax and clarine), Tony Cattano (trombone), Pasquale Mirra (vibraphone), Simone Padovani
(percussions), Andrea Melani (drums).
She’s also leader of the Almond Tree quartet with Tony Cattano (trombone), Pasquale Mirra
(vibraphone) and Daniele Paoletti (drums) that has the album “Il Mandorlo” to his name.
She works also with the Xilo Music octet based on compositions for wooden instruments.
Ju-Ju Sounds is the latest project of orginal music she’s working on with Achille Succi (alto sax and
clarinet), Paolo Botti (viola and banjo), Andrea Melani (drums), featuring Griffin Rodriguez (voice).
Play Ellington! Trio with Emanuele Parrini (violin) and Andrea Melani (drums) wants to honor the
great piano player and composer Duke Ellington, one of the most representative personalities i the
entire jazz history.
In 2009 she gathered the Hear In Now Trio with cello player Tomeka Reid from Chicago, U.S.A., and
violin player and voice Mazz Swift from New York, U.S.A. During this period she enforced also her
partnership with the eclectic newyorker musician Sabir Mateen.
She took part in Nicole Mitchell’s italian tours in 2012 (Black Heart Ensemble- Aperitivo in concerto
Teatro Manzoni) and 2015.
She performed with singer Maria Pia De Vito for the Rumori nell’Isola Festival in the Santo Stefano
island prison. From this performance the dvd “Suoni dal Carcere”.
She stably works with Tiziana Ghiglioni and she became member of the New Nexus of Tiziano Tononi
and Daniele Cavallanti since 2007.
In 2010 she started working on “Dialogo” (producing in 2013 the album “Live in Teano” by Terre
Sommerse label) with trumpet player Angelo Olivieri.
For some years now she works stably with singer Dee Alexander, Chicago, U.S.A., during her italian
tours.
In 2010 she won the Italian Best New Talent, “Musica Jazz” Top Jazz 2010 magazine and the same
year she also won the reward “In Sound” as best double bass player.
In 2010 she founds independent label Fonterossa Records of which she is founder, producer and
curator. She’s artist director of “Fonterossa Day” a venue part of Pisa Jazz Festival and she curates
Fonterossa Open Orchestra Lab (workshop on “non conventional compositions” and improvisation).
She’s the conductor and leader of the Fonterossa Orchestra.
In 2017 she joined Roscoe Mitchell Sextet, for a tribute to John Coltrane and she performed with Art
Ensemble of Chicago in UK. She’e part of Art Ensemble of Chicago 50th anniversary group (“We Are
On The Edge” Pi records 2019).
Recently she has started the new project Young Shouts with three talented young musicians. The group
has won the I-Jazz call “New Jazz Generation 2020” and their first album "aLive Shouts" has been
included in the “Best Jazz on Bandcamp: August 2019" chart.
There are also many collaborations also with dance companies as Company Blue, Ballo Pubblico and
Virgilio Sieni. In 2004 in Lille, with Virgilio Sieni and Francesco Giomi she performed the productions
“Soli sulla tenerezza”, “La visitazione “and “Concerto”.
There are several expreriences in classic music too performing with City of Grosseto orchestra,
R.Franci orchestra, chamber music, symphony and opera like Cavalleria Rusticana, Il Barbiere di
Siviglia, Madama Butterfly and many others.
Theater activities with David Riondino “La buona novella”, Marco Meseri and Compagnia Liminalia
“Angeli ribelli”.
Since 2004 she teaches double bass, electric bass and combo at the Siena Jazz and Associazione
Mosaico in Colle Val D’Elsa, double bass and combo at S.J.U. Siena Jazz University courses and
“Marcello Melis” summer workshps (2009 edition).
Since 2016 she takes part of the programme “European exchange – Erasmus+” for the Maastricht
Conservatory (Holland) and Tbilisi (Georgia).
Since 2008 she holds workshops on improvisation and conduction.
Here some festivals she performed: Sant’Anna Arresi Jazz, Vignola Jazz in It, Roccella Ionica festival,
Clusone Jazz, Teano Jazz, Aperitivo In Concerto, Lucca Jazz Donna, “Festival Au Desert” Firenze, San
Vito Jazz Festival, Festival “Emilia Concerti sul Prato”, Pisa Jazz, Jazz On the Road, Metastasio Jazz,
Musicastrada Festival, Lugo Contemporanea, Udine Jazz, Jazz Flirt Festival, CrossRoads, Festival,
Festival Rumori dell’Isola, Woma Jazz Festival, Novara Jazz Festival, Festival Ah-Um, La Spezia
international Jazz Festival, Madrid Jazz Festival (Spagna), Bansko jazz festival (Bulgaria), Jazz Cerkno
(Slovenia), Poznan “Made in Chicago” (Polonia), “Onna Jazz” (Tokyo).
She also performed with: Ernie Adams, Dee Alexander, Lewis Barnes, Gianni Basso, Jean Paul
Bourelly, Mwata Bowden, Joe Bowie, Fabrizio Bosso, Rob Brown, Cristiano Calcagnile, Domenico
Caliri, Stefano ”Cocco” Cantini, Roberto Cecchetto, Francesco Cusa, Vincent Davis, Ernest Dawkins,
Miquel De La Cerna, Maria Pia De Vito, Hamid Drake, Dimitri Grechi Espinoza, Garrison Fewell,
Ettore Fioravanti, Tiziana Ghiglioni, Nico Gori, Mauro Grossi, Jason Hwang, Tristan Honsinger,
Pasquale Innarella, Paul Jeffrey, Fred Lonberg Holm, Stefano Maltese, Sabir Mateen, Laurence Butch
Morris, David Murray, Nicole Mitchell, Evan Parker, Francesco Petreni, Fabrizio Puglisi, Enrico Rava,
Scott Reeves, Ernest Reisenger, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Alan Silva, Achille Succi, Marco Tamburini, Les
Tartit, Chad Taylor, John Tchicai, Pietro Tonolo, Gianluigi Trovesi, Lorenzo Tucci, Ken Vandermark,
Ed Wilkinson, Michael Zerang and many others.
Silvia Bolognesi was born in Siena.
Double bass graduate at the R. Franci Institute in Siena where she studied with Master Andrea Granai.
At the same time she also studied double bass techniques with Master Alberto Bocini at the G.Verdi
Institute in Prato. She became more interested in jazz music in 1998/1999 when she took part at jazz
music courses and summer camps by Siena Jazz where she studied with Master Ferruccio Spinetti,
Furio Di Castri, Ettore Fioravanti, Giancrlo Gazzani.
She also took part at the “high qualification course for jazz players” patronized by the European
Community, studiyng with Furio Di Castri, Mario Raia, Stefano Zenni and Francesco Nartinelli; the
“trio course” with Stefano Battaglia, Paolino Dalla Porta and Fabrizio Sferra; the “music research
workshop” with Stefano Battaglia.
In 2003 she was choosen to be part of the Butch Morris’s orchestra with which she took part in the XIII
Roccella Jonica Festival Edition and in 2010 performed the conduction N.192 “Possible universe” for
te XXV Sant’Anna Arresi Fetival Edition.
She took part in jazz improvisation and composition workshops with Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe
Mitchell and Anthony Braxton; studiyng double bass with William Parker at Sant’Anna Arresi XX
Edition summer camp.
Since 2004 she leads the Open Combo octet with three albums edited “Introducing open combo” and
“What was I sayng?” by the british label 33 Jazz Records and “Large” with the indipendent label
Fonterossa Records, founded and directed by Silvia Bolognesi. Open Combo members are Piero
Bittolo Bon (alto sax and flute), Cristiano Arcelli (soprano sax and alto sax), Rossano Emili (baritone
sax and clarine), Tony Cattano (trombone), Pasquale Mirra (vibraphone), Simone Padovani
(percussions), Andrea Melani (drums).
She’s also leader of the Almond Tree quartet with Tony Cattano (trombone), Pasquale Mirra
(vibraphone) and Daniele Paoletti (drums) that has the album “Il Mandorlo” to his name.
She works also with the Xilo Music octet based on compositions for wooden instruments.
Ju-Ju Sounds is the latest project of orginal music she’s working on with Achille Succi (alto sax and
clarinet), Paolo Botti (viola and banjo), Andrea Melani (drums), featuring Griffin Rodriguez (voice).
Play Ellington! Trio with Emanuele Parrini (violin) and Andrea Melani (drums) wants to honor the
great piano player and composer Duke Ellington, one of the most representative personalities i the
entire jazz history.
In 2009 she gathered the Hear In Now Trio with cello player Tomeka Reid from Chicago, U.S.A., and
violin player and voice Mazz Swift from New York, U.S.A. During this period she enforced also her
partnership with the eclectic newyorker musician Sabir Mateen.
She took part in Nicole Mitchell’s italian tours in 2012 (Black Heart Ensemble- Aperitivo in concerto
Teatro Manzoni) and 2015.
She performed with singer Maria Pia De Vito for the Rumori nell’Isola Festival in the Santo Stefano
island prison. From this performance the dvd “Suoni dal Carcere”.
She stably works with Tiziana Ghiglioni and she became member of the New Nexus of Tiziano Tononi
and Daniele Cavallanti since 2007.
In 2010 she started working on “Dialogo” (producing in 2013 the album “Live in Teano” by Terre
Sommerse label) with trumpet player Angelo Olivieri.
For some years now she works stably with singer Dee Alexander, Chicago, U.S.A., during her italian
tours.
In 2010 she won the Italian Best New Talent, “Musica Jazz” Top Jazz 2010 magazine and the same
year she also won the reward “In Sound” as best double bass player.
In 2010 she founds independent label Fonterossa Records of which she is founder, producer and
curator. She’s artist director of “Fonterossa Day” a venue part of Pisa Jazz Festival and she curates
Fonterossa Open Orchestra Lab (workshop on “non conventional compositions” and improvisation).
She’s the conductor and leader of the Fonterossa Orchestra.
In 2017 she joined Roscoe Mitchell Sextet, for a tribute to John Coltrane and she performed with Art
Ensemble of Chicago in UK. She’e part of Art Ensemble of Chicago 50th anniversary group (“We Are
On The Edge” Pi records 2019).
Recently she has started the new project Young Shouts with three talented young musicians. The group
has won the I-Jazz call “New Jazz Generation 2020” and their first album "aLive Shouts" has been
included in the “Best Jazz on Bandcamp: August 2019" chart.
There are also many collaborations also with dance companies as Company Blue, Ballo Pubblico and
Virgilio Sieni. In 2004 in Lille, with Virgilio Sieni and Francesco Giomi she performed the productions
“Soli sulla tenerezza”, “La visitazione “and “Concerto”.
There are several expreriences in classic music too performing with City of Grosseto orchestra,
R.Franci orchestra, chamber music, symphony and opera like Cavalleria Rusticana, Il Barbiere di
Siviglia, Madama Butterfly and many others.
Theater activities with David Riondino “La buona novella”, Marco Meseri and Compagnia Liminalia
“Angeli ribelli”.
Since 2004 she teaches double bass, electric bass and combo at the Siena Jazz and Associazione
Mosaico in Colle Val D’Elsa, double bass and combo at S.J.U. Siena Jazz University courses and
“Marcello Melis” summer workshps (2009 edition).
Since 2016 she takes part of the programme “European exchange – Erasmus+” for the Maastricht
Conservatory (Holland) and Tbilisi (Georgia).
Since 2008 she holds workshops on improvisation and conduction.
Here some festivals she performed: Sant’Anna Arresi Jazz, Vignola Jazz in It, Roccella Ionica festival,
Clusone Jazz, Teano Jazz, Aperitivo In Concerto, Lucca Jazz Donna, “Festival Au Desert” Firenze, San
Vito Jazz Festival, Festival “Emilia Concerti sul Prato”, Pisa Jazz, Jazz On the Road, Metastasio Jazz,
Musicastrada Festival, Lugo Contemporanea, Udine Jazz, Jazz Flirt Festival, CrossRoads, Festival,
Festival Rumori dell’Isola, Woma Jazz Festival, Novara Jazz Festival, Festival Ah-Um, La Spezia
international Jazz Festival, Madrid Jazz Festival (Spagna), Bansko jazz festival (Bulgaria), Jazz Cerkno
(Slovenia), Poznan “Made in Chicago” (Polonia), “Onna Jazz” (Tokyo).
She also performed with: Ernie Adams, Dee Alexander, Lewis Barnes, Gianni Basso, Jean Paul
Bourelly, Mwata Bowden, Joe Bowie, Fabrizio Bosso, Rob Brown, Cristiano Calcagnile, Domenico
Caliri, Stefano ”Cocco” Cantini, Roberto Cecchetto, Francesco Cusa, Vincent Davis, Ernest Dawkins,
Miquel De La Cerna, Maria Pia De Vito, Hamid Drake, Dimitri Grechi Espinoza, Garrison Fewell,
Ettore Fioravanti, Tiziana Ghiglioni, Nico Gori, Mauro Grossi, Jason Hwang, Tristan Honsinger,
Pasquale Innarella, Paul Jeffrey, Fred Lonberg Holm, Stefano Maltese, Sabir Mateen, Laurence Butch
Morris, David Murray, Nicole Mitchell, Evan Parker, Francesco Petreni, Fabrizio Puglisi, Enrico Rava,
Scott Reeves, Ernest Reisenger, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Alan Silva, Achille Succi, Marco Tamburini, Les
Tartit, Chad Taylor, John Tchicai, Pietro Tonolo, Gianluigi Trovesi, Lorenzo Tucci, Ken Vandermark,
Ed Wilkinson, Michael Zerang and many others.