Japan Live Tour 2015: The Osaka Concert

Alessandro Collina is an Italian pianist whose work combines classical training with jazz improvisation. He took his first piano lessons with his uncle, Ubaldo Giardini, and continued his studies with Gianmaria Bonino, graduating in classical piano from the Conservatory of La Spezia. After attending improvisation workshops, he studied jazz piano at the Conservatory of Nice.

He performed with the Conte Big Band directed by Giampaolo Casati and, from 2003, with the Italian–French quartet led by trombonist Luca Begonia. His collaborators have included Gianni Basso, Emanuele Cisi, Claudio Capurro and David Amar. From 2006 to 2008 he was a regular member of Paul Jeffrey’s European touring group, with which he recorded We See, a tribute to Thelonious Monk released by Imago Records in 2009.

In 2009 he began collaborating with Andy Gravish and Mike Campagna on the project 5AM; its CD was released in 2011 and distributed by Anticraft. In 2009, Louis and Philippe Petrucciani invited him to take part in a tour marking the tenth anniversary of Michel Petrucciani’s death, which took him to major Italian jazz festivals. From 2010 he also collaborated in concert with trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso in France and Italy.

His continuing work dedicated to Michel Petrucciani has involved bassist Marc Peillon and drummer Rodolfo Cervetto. With trumpeter Marco Vezzoso he recorded the live album The Osaka Concert during their 2015 Japanese tour and later Guarda che luna… Again, an instrumental exploration of Italian songs.

Jérôme Achat is a jazz drummer and percussionist. His musical collaborations include pianist Tony Paeleman, accordionist Vincent Peirani, pianist Robert Persi, bassist Jean-Marc Jafet and guitarist Alessio Menconi.

He has worked with guitarist Luc Fenoli and trumpeter Nicolas Folmer, appearing on Fenoli’s Jazz Time (2021) and in Folmer’s project devoted to Michel Legrand. For Da Vinci Jazz, he is the drummer of the Marco Vezzoso Quartet on Japan Live Tour 2015: The Osaka Concert, recorded live in Osaka on 9 December 2015.

Marco Vezzoso is an Italian jazz trumpeter and composer born in Alba. He began studying classical trumpet at the age of ten and obtained his diploma at the Turin Conservatory. His interest in jazz and improvisation led him to masterclasses with Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu, Dave Douglas, Wynton Marsalis, Luca Aquino and Alberto Mandarini.

He has lived in France since 2012 and has taught jazz trumpet at the Pierre Cochereau Conservatory in Nice. The biography accompanying Guarda che luna… Again also records his work directing the brass ensemble of the Nice Opera. Alongside teaching, he has maintained an active concert career across Europe as a bandleader, soloist and sideman, and as a conductor, arranger and composer.

After appearing on nineteen albums as a sideman, as reported in the album’s original biography, he recorded his first album of original compositions as a leader in 2014 for MAP, distributed by Egea. He has collaborated with RAI in Rome on music for advertising and film; his piece Resta in camera Bi was used as the theme for the Radio RAI programme Tra poco in edicola.

During his 2015 tour of western Japan, his concert in Osaka with pianist Alessandro Collina was recorded and released by Da Vinci, with distribution by Egea. From 18 August to 6 September 2017, the two musicians toured Cambodia, Indonesia and Japan, giving sixteen concerts. Their subsequent recording Guarda che luna… Again presents Italian song classics in instrumental jazz interpretations.

Pierre Marcus is a French double bassist and composer. He began playing electric bass at seventeen, initially exploring funk and reggae before discovering jazz. He studied at the Conservatory in Nice with François Chassagnite and Jean-Marc Baccarini, took up double bass and completed his studies in 2015.

His recordings include Longue attente, Pyrodance and Following the Right Way. He has worked with Pierre Bertrand, Andrea Bazzicalupo and Marco Vezzoso, with whose quartet he recorded Japan Live Tour 2015: The Osaka Concert. After moving from Nice to Paris, he collaborated with musicians including Baptiste Herbin, Eric Legnini and Lionel Belmondo. He won the Trophées du Jazz de la Côte d’Azur in 2014 and the Nice Jazz Festival competition in 2016.

Marco Vezzoso is an Italian trumpeter and composer born in Alba. He moved to France, where he has taught jazz trumpet at the Pierre Cochereau Conservatory in Nice.

Alongside his teaching, he has maintained an active concert career spanning more than fifteen years throughout Europe as a bandleader, soloist and sideman. His work also includes conducting orchestras and ensembles, arranging and composing.