Diego Parrella

I am a story teller. A composer with my own rules in music. i am also a producer and drummer.

Diego Rivera is a world-class tenor and soprano saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator. He teaches in and serves as Associate Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University. He is also director of the award-winning ensemble MSU Jazz Octet 1. Rivera possesses a direct, robust tone that recalls the emotive "tough tenor" era of Johnny Griffin and Gene "Jug" Ammons; one can also hear the tonal influences of Ben Webster and the modal approach of John Coltrane in his soprano playing.

An acclaimed Italian jazz pianist, composer, and educator, Enrico Pieranunzi is known for his virtuosic, classical-influenced technique, nuanced sense of harmony, and elegantly restrained approach to modern post-bop jazz. Influenced heavily by Bill Evans, Pieranunzi emerged in the 1970s leading his own trio, and quickly established himself internationally as an in-demand sideman for such jazz giants as Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, and others. Along with performing, he is a dedicated teacher, having worked for many years as a full professor at the Conservatorio di Musica in Frosinone. Recognized as one of the foremost Italian jazz artists, he has garnered a handful of awards, including taking home the 1997 Django d'Or as Best European Jazz Musician and winning the 2014 German Echo Jazz Award as Best International Keyboard Artist. Pieranunzi remains a highly prolific artist, moving from trio albums like 2019's New Visions, to conceptual solo dates like 2020's Jackson Pollock-inspired Frame, to vibrant collaborations like 2021's After Glow with Bert Joris.

For My World, Diego Figueiredo features his most recent compositions–music that finds him exploring several different styles on his nylon guitar.

After Porgy and Bess in 2021, recorded with Pierre-Alain Goualch and André Ceccarelli and Interplay in 2021 with Alain Jean-Marie, crowned "Record of the Year" by the Jazz Academy, Diego Imbert returns to us with an original repertoire, composed to measure for his historical quartet.

The unifying principle of this CD eludes me, partly because I think the link between the famous painter and any of the music is tenuous to say the least, but also because the English translation, by the soprano soloist herself, is not a little impenetrable. However, suffice perhaps that the painter and the mainly Italian composers of the early 17th century represented here demonstrate the same impassioned sense of drama in their creative enterprises. This is technically challenging music for the singer, and I’m afraid Jessica Gould rarely sounds completely comfortable or in control and occasionally suffers from fairly eye-watering lapses in intonation and tone.

With West Circle, saxophonist Diego Rivera delivers a powerful and deeply personal statement, channeling his emotions into a poignant new quartet recording on Posi-Tone Records.

En 2009, le groupe d’André Ceccarelli avec Diego Imbert à la basse et Pierre-Alain Goualch au piano invite David Linx pour l’enregistrement d’un hommage à Claude Nougaro. Le trio se transforme alors en quartet très soudé comme l’ont prouvé les nombreux concerts donnés dans la foulée par les quatre musiciens. Ces 7000 Miles témoignent aussi de cette complicité totale. Même si la voix de Linx est la locomotive du projet, le trio de Ceccarelli n’est évidemment pas là juste pour la déco. Au contraire. L’organe élastique du chanteur bruxellois fait corps avec la musique de ses partenaires.