Dancing About Architecture with Francesco Crosara
Pianist and composer Francesco Crosara visited Spotlight On back in May of 2024. He was in the midst of promotion for his album Circular Motion, on Origin/AO2 Records, which is now up for consideration for a Grammy nomination.
• His music mixes jazz improvisation with his classical Conservatory training in Rome, and strong Latin influences
• Has performed with Lionel Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Hargrove and many others
• Serves on the Board of Directors of the Music Discovery Center, a non-profit organization based in Bremerton, WA
• Website | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | YouTube
Francesco is currently working on a solo piano recording project based on the Yamaha Disklavier system. The concept: the MIDI-enabled Yamaha Disklavier concert grand piano (specifically, the DC7X) is able to faithfully reproduce every nuance of Francesco's recorded performance and play it back as a player piano. He then records an overdub to play a duet with myself as a "ghost".
Francesco shared some of his preliminary work with the system, showcasing the capabilities of the Disklavier on his original composition, "Circular Motion," performed in this duet fashion:
Get more about Francesco and his work here.
Spotlight On: What is your first memory of music?
Francesco Crosara: There is this black and white photo of me, about one year old, sitting on a plush pillow with the family dachshund, who was almost bigger than me. Close to us is a turntable spinning music.
My mother stated that we were listening to Miles Davis, and that I would get in a trance mode when she would play jazz albums. Music was always an indispensable element at home.
My first actual memory? As a kid, I grew up in Rome with a passion for classical music, my hero being Beethoven. I loved his powerful compositions and romanticism. By the time I was ten years old I could hum all nine symphonies by heart following the records. I also started listening and studying the great classical pianist composers: Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel and Satie. By age fourteen, I switched to jazz and started getting inspired by many of the great pianists that ended up being huge influences on my music and composition approach. To this day, my musical style is a blend of jazz with classical nuances.
SO: You want someone to understand you. What song or album do you give them?
FC: There are many amazing albums to choose from, I could suggest a number of great recordings based on the specific mood of the day.
If I must narrow the choice down to one selection, it will be Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert solo piano live, released in 1975 by the ECM label. I have great affinity towards that specific album because of its sublime feeling and use of extemporaneous improvisation, a sense of freedom in the performance and inspiration which comes from a higher place. There's nobody quite like Keith Jarrett when it comes to improvised piano solo. I like to identify with that overall musical frame of mind, so the Koln Concert is my definitive album choice.
SO: What music do you and your significant other disagree about?
FC: None. This is a double negative: not disagreeing about any music = agreeing about all music. In essence, my wife Julia and I have a shared musical taste. We are jointly involved in our family-run music production company, and she covers multiple functions, including art direction and graphics design for my jazz musical work. Music overall is a family endeavor which unites us with a common purpose. In conclusion, I cannot think of any music that my significant other and I disagree about.
SO: What instrument(s) can you play?
FC: My specialty is the keyboards, ranging from the acoustic piano to the Rhodes electric piano to the digital synthesizer, depending on the type of song and overall sound texture I want to convey to the audience. I can also play a little bit of percussion and lightly groove on Latin rhythms. There's an instrument called the "jewsharp" that I learned to play in a rhythmic and funky way from Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy was a great family friend, and apart from influencing my bebop and jazz style, he taught me to play the jewsharp! What other instruments would I "like" to play? Everything: bass, drums, guitar, saxophone. There's always time to learn.
SO: What was your first paycheck related to music?
FC: I think I received a 1,000 Lira bill tip when I played in the North of Italy in my dad's hometown, age about 14 or so in the seventies. At the time (pre-Euro currency), that amount in Lira was roughly equivalent to about $1. I could buy quite a bit with 1,000 Liras back then, but I opted to preserve that bill as a memento of earning money through music. At this time, I have no idea where that bill ended up. It might be worth something for collectors.
SO: What song, album or artist never gets old for you?
FC: Chick Corea. He blessed us with an enormous body of recorded music through many decades, and always kept his music approach fresh due to his eclectic music concepts, ranging from piano solos, to piano duets with Herbie Hancock, piano-vibes duets with Gary Burton, trios, quartets, Spanish ensembles with Flamenco dancers, and even symphonic work. Chick has left his indelible mark as a true original redefining many genres, from straight-ahead jazz to Latin, Fusion, and even classical music. He was also a mentor to me, and provided a role model on how I approach my own music style and interaction with fellow musicians. My favorite Chick Corea albums that never get old? "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs", "Akoustik Band", "Trio Music: Live in Europe", "Four Quartets".
SO: When you were 15 your favorite artist, song or album was:
FC: It was a tie between Billy Joel and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP).
SO: What is a creative work or artist, outside of music, that you love or admire?
FC: A great artist I admire, and we are going back centuries, is Leonardo da Vinci, the quintessential Renaissance Man. Julia and I were in Florence last November, and enjoyed a visit at the Uffizi Gallery (with fewer crowds), where a number of Leonardo's painting are displayed, such as a beautiful scene of The Annunciation.
Not only did Leonardo paint some of the most intriguing masterpieces of the Renaissance period (The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa, etc), but he also excelled in many fields as a sculptor, engineer, architect, scientist, mathematician, botanist, astronomer and inventor. Apparently, Leonardo is said to have designed a few musical instruments as well: a horse-head lyre, a "viola-organista", and more. A mad genius.
SO: What is the last concert you saw
FC: Eliane Elias, with her fantastic quartet on tour in Seattle. Eliane's musical sense blends jazz with an infectious Brazilian sensibility. She is a terrific composer, pianist, singer, and performer as a whole.
SO: Who is the biggest influence on your musical life?
FC: My mother. As a singer, broadcaster, producer, and TV personality in Italy in the sixties and seventies, she was a pioneer of the Italian jazz scene. Her support and guidance allowed me to grow in an artistic environment, and while we may not have agreed on some of the musical directions and influences, we always shared a sense of ethics, dedication to the art form, and keen business sense. While she passed on in 2023, her presence is still very much alive.
Comments