Andrea Marcelli

Andrea Marcelli is a drummer, clarinettist, composer and producer from Rome. His career has taken him to five continents. He has recorded extensively, including two solo albums of original music for Verve/PolyGram, and has also worked with Columbia TriStar, Polydor K.K., ESC-Medien, BHM, Soul Note, Jazzwerkstatt, Storyville and 55 Records. More than two hundred of his jazz compositions and soundtrack pieces have appeared on recordings. Two compositions from Beyond the Blue were included in Sher Music’s European Real Book and The Digital Real Book, Part 2.

His performances have taken him to the United States, Japan, India, Brazil, South Africa, Tunisia, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Estonia, France, England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania, Portugal and the Czech Republic.

He began his career in Rome as a freelance drummer, appearing on many RAI television programmes between 1982 and 1988, chiefly with Bruno Biriaco’s big band. In 1986 he graduated in classical clarinet and jazz composition and arranging at the Licinio Refice Conservatory in Frosinone. From 1984 to 1996 he produced, composed and recorded television soundtracks, particularly for Primrose/Flipper Music.

Work on his debut album, Silent Will, began in 1988 and took him to Los Angeles in 1989. The album was released by Verve/PolyGram and Polydor K.K. in 1989–90 and featured Wayne Shorter, Allan Holdsworth, Bob Berg, Mike Stern and John Patitucci. It was followed by Oneness, released by Verve/Polydor K.K. in Japan and Lipstick in Europe and the United States in 1992–94, with Ralph Towner, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Mainieri, Marc Johnson, Gary Thomas and Mitchel Forman.

Marcelli moved to the United States in 1989, spending eight years in Los Angeles and four in New York before returning to Europe in 2001. His work in jazz was recognised through the award of a US green card in the extraordinary-ability category. Active in the live and studio scenes of both cities, he collaborated with Wayne Shorter, Don Menza, Bob Mintzer, Mitchel Forman, Eddie Gomez, Allan Holdsworth, Dave Carpenter, Steve Tavaglione, Rick Margitza, Bob Sheppard, John Beasley, Alan Pasqua, Alphonso Johnson, Frank Gambale, Harold Land, L. Subramaniam and Doug Webb.

He has been based in Berlin since 2001, working internationally as a performer and educator with cultural organisations around the world. His collaborators have also included Ekkehard Wölk, Johannes Fink, Markus and Simon Stockhausen, Eberhard Weber, Dave Liebman, Thomas Clausen, Jesper Lundgaard, Palle Danielsson, Hiram Bullock, Jeff Berlin, Arild Andersen and Giorgio Crobu.