Raphael Gualazzi

Raphael Gualazzi was born in Urbino on 11th November, 1981. After studying pianoforte at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, where he focussed on classical composers, he extended his musical research to include Jazz, Blues and Fusion, collaborating with qualified artists of the sector and becoming known for his unique vocal and instrumental qualities.

His music was born of the fusion between the Rag-time technique of the early 1900s and the lyricism of Blues, Soul and Jazz in its more traditional form. The typical pre-jazz and stride-piano sounds of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, Art Tatum and Mary Lou Williams, and the Blues of Ray Charles and Roosevelt Sykes, are brought up to date by Raphael Gualazzi with an extremely personal style in which tradition co-exists with the most innovative influences of such eclectic artists as Jamiroquai and Ben Harper.

Since 2005 Raphael Gualazzi has taken part in important festivals such as Fano Jazz, the Java Festival of Jakarta and Argo Jazz, Ravello International Festival and others, and in France in 2008 his compilation ‘Piano Jazz’ was released on the Wagram label. 

After being invited to perform in Vermont and New Hampshire as part of the project ‘The History & Mystery of Jazz’, in September of 2009 Raphael Gualazzi met Caterina Caselli and signed with Sugar a recording contract.

In the summer of 2010 Raphael Gualazzi performed at the Heineken Jammin Festival, the prestigious Pistoia Blues Festival and the Giffoni Film Festival, and went on to make his debut in September at the club Blue Note in Milan.

On 18 February 2011 he won the Sanremo Festival in the Newcomers section, the Critics' "Mia Martini" Award for Newcomers and the "Sala Radio-Tv" Award with the self-penned song "Follia d'amore".

On 13 December 2013, his participation in the "Big Artists" section in the Sanremo Music Festival 2013 is confirmed with the songs "Senza ritegno" and "Sai (ci basta un sogno)".

His third studio album, Happy Mistake, is released on 14 February 2013.

In 2014 he took part in the "Big Artists" section in Sanremo for the second year in a row, this time together with The Bloody Beetroots.

He has toured already most of Europe in many jazz festivals with no interruption in the last 3 years.

Raphael released a new Album in the September 2016.