Gandusiana - Livio Minafra (Italy)

Livio Minafra (Italy)
Rovinj, St. Francis Church
At the age of 10 he began studying the piano and he graduated from the “Niccolò Piccinni” Conservatory in Bari. In 2007 he also got the Diplome in Jazz - arrangements and composition, with a thesis on Cecil Taylor.
Since 2001 he has been a member of his father’s sextet, the Pino Minafra Sud Ensemble, both as a pianist and as a composer. In 2003 he joined Canto General, a music ensemble including V. Curci, R. Ottaviano, P. Minafra, F. Mezzina and V. Mazzone and whose name was inspired by Pablo Neruda’s epic poem. Since its birth this ensemble has been committed to taking part in political and trade union demonstrations, peace demonstrations and any other events related to social and civil issues.
From 2003 to 2007, though turning his hands to the accordion, he took part in the Municipale Balcanica from Terlizzi, a music ensemble that has given 200 concerts in Italy, in Germany, in France, in Bulgaria realizing in 2005 “Fòua”, the first CD of the Municipale Balcanica. In October 2006 they met in Ancona the famous Kocani Orchestra in a project called ‘Tra sponde’ .
On the contrary La dolcezza del Grido is the title of his own first cd, a piano solo recording of all original compositions, was released in 2003 by Leo Records. This piece of work has already received wide recognition.
In 2005 he released “Terronia”, the latest CD of Pino Minafra’s Sud Ensemble produced by the German recording label Enja and that won the prize “Top Jazz 2005” with the Italian Magazine Musica Jazz as the best cd and the best group of the year. In 2007 he created with his father Pino the MinAfric Orchestra and in 2008 he realized with Enja Records (De) his second piano solo La fiamma e il cristallo with some new compositions of his. With this cd in 2009 for the Italian magazine 'Musica Jazz' he won the prize TOP JAZZ 2008 as the best new talent of the year!