Francesco Bearzatti

A narrator in love with words and capable of prodigious innovations, always and everywhere a stranger yet profoundly Italian, a musician in eternal pursuit of the other, irresistibly drawn to revolutionary processes as long as they are free and mutable, not rigid, Francesco Bearzatti spent his childhood in the province of Friuli.

He shared his first musical loves with his peers, listening like a true rocker: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, then came punk—Ramones, Sex Pistols, and all the others. After graduating in clarinet from the Conservatory of Udine, Francesco deepened his studies at the Jazz Mobile in New York with George Coleman. For many years, he dedicated himself to rock and pop music, performing in local discos as a DJ and recording several electronic music projects that profoundly influenced his musical journey: “I played a lot of pop music, especially when I was very young. I played in discos for five years, more or less every night, working with various DJs, and I also happened to record a lot of electronic music. This kind of situation is still a very evident influence today: it’s part of my background, and when I think about my projects, it’s natural for me to draw from my extra-jazz past.”

One of his first and most important formative experiences was certainly the album “Live at Vartan”—and the subsequent U.S. tour—under the name of Russian trumpeter Valery Ponomarev, in which he found himself playing with drummer Ben Riley, the historic partner of Thelonious Monk. In 1994, he formed the Kaiser Lupowitz Trio, a band from his Verona period, with Enrico Terragnoli on guitar and Zeno De Rossi on drums. The trio was named after a private investigator character invented by Woody Allen for a short story, who is tasked with finding God.

Clearly inspired by New York, especially by the avant-garde scene at the Knitting Factory, the trio was distinguished by a deep folk drive, with various blends of klezmer and Indian music. Together, they recorded a couple of albums: “Dommage,” which also featured Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, and “You Don’t!,” recorded at Systems Two Studio in Brooklyn, with Josh Roseman on trombone. His first album as a leader was titled “Suspended Steps,” recorded for Caligola Records in a quartet with Paolo Birro on piano, Marc Abrams on double bass, and Max Chiarella on drums. The album, released in 1998 and composed almost entirely of original repertoire, received good public and critical acclaim, particularly in the French magazine Jazzman. However, the following period, the years spent in France, in Paris, marked the pinnacle of Francesco’s artistic career. He formed a great friendship with Aldo Romano and participated in the recording of “Because of Bechet.” It was during this time that he met Emmanuel Bex, a virtuoso organ player. The three formed the Bizart Trio led by Francesco and recorded “Virus” for Marco Valente’s Auand Records (2002), and followed it up two years later with “Hope,” which also featured Enrico Rava. In 2003, he was voted Best New Talent at the Top Jazz Awards organized by the specialized magazine Musica Jazz.

Among his many collaborations, one of the most notable was with Giovanni Mazzarino. Francesco participated in several recordings of both the quartet and quintet of the Sicilian pianist, from “Plays Ballads” in 1999 to “Live allo Spasimo” in 2003, playing with T. Harrell, R. Brecker, and many others.

He took part in the new album by Gianluca Petrella, “Indigo 4,” for Blue Note and was one of the key figures in the quintet of Stefano Battaglia, with whom he had already recorded a tribute album to Pier Paolo Pasolini. Also for Auand Records, he recorded with the Sax Pistols “Stolen Days” (a band in which he was joined by Stomu Takeishi on electric bass and Dan Weiss on drums). After participating in the second album of Indigo 4, in February 2008, Parco della Musica Records released the album “Tinissima,” a work entirely dedicated to the figure of Tina Modotti, conceived with Giovanni Falzone on trumpet and a rhythm section formed by Danilo Gallo and Zeno De Rossi. This is considered one of the most interesting works of 2008.

He won the “Instrumentalist of the Year” award in the reed section at the 2009 Top Jazz poll organized by Musica Jazz magazine. He was also named Best European Musician 2011 by the Académie du Jazz in France. In 2010, “X (Suite for Malcolm)” was awarded Best Album of the Year at the 2010 Top Jazz and as Best Album in Italy by Jazzit Award. He won Best Reed 2011 at the Musica Jazz poll and Best Tenor Saxophone at the JazzIt Awards. In France, he collaborated with Luis Sclavis and J. Pierre Como and became part of Henri Texier’s quintet, with whom he recorded Canto Negro. In 2011, CAM Jazz released the album Monknroll, which had huge success in France and led the quartet on a world tour. Four years later, “This Machine Kills Fascists” was released, a tribute to Woody Guthrie, and in October 2020, CAM Jazz released the album “Zorro”: on the centenary of Zorro’s creation, saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti and his Tinissima Quartet presented their latest contribution to the vast and spectacular jazz landscape. Zorro is a fabulous suite featuring grand cinematic themes, romantic interludes, wide landscapes, and lively chases.

In 2022, the album “Portrait of Tony” (Parco della Musica Records) was released, dedicated to a jazz legend with a restless and adventurous life: the clarinetist, saxophonist, and pianist of Sicilian origin, Tony Scott.

In 2023, Bearzatti will be on tour with his new project (with an album to follow for CAM Jazz) titled P.A.Z – POST ATOMIC ZEP, in which he approaches the Led Zeppelin repertoire in a completely personal way. Joining him on stage are two extraordinary musicians, Danilo Gallo on bass and Stefano Tamborrino on drums.