Giuseppe Urso: Nake

Giuseppe Urso is a musician, composer, arranger and conductor from Palermo. He graduated in symphonic percussion and jazz with top marks and honours. His career spans big bands, symphony orchestras and projects as both bandleader and sideman.

He has performed with Phil Woods, Cedar Walton, Vince Mendoza, Clark Terry, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Liebman, Patti Austin, Rachelle Ferrell, Billy Childs, Diane Schuur, Toots Thielemans, Noa, Jack Walrath, Dave Kikoski, Eumir Deodato, Tigran Hamasyan, Bill Carrothers, Bobby Watson, Ernie Watts, Emil Richards, Joe Porcaro, Martial Solal, Les McCann, Wayne Bergeron, Darren Barrett and John Serry, among others.

His discography includes numerous recordings as a leader and composer, attracting attention in the specialist press. In 2001, readers of Basi Media Magazine voted him Best Italian Jazz Drummer. His recordings as a leader have also featured on RAI’s Fahrenheit and specialist radio stations in the United States.

Alongside his performing career, he has maintained an extensive teaching practice and published educational materials. In 2009, he co-founded the international music school Palermojazz, serving as its teaching director until 2013 and organising courses, workshops and seminars with internationally renowned musicians.

As a composer and performer, he has presented his project Vinum De Cupa at festivals in Italy and abroad. A timpanist, drummer and jazz pianist, he has performed in theatres, festivals and jazz clubs. At Palermo’s Conservatorio Alessandro Scarlatti, he has taught jazz drums and percussion, headed the Jazz Department and helped found and conduct its Jazz Big Band, the Palermo Jazz Orchestra, whose collaborators have included Peter Erskine, Gianluigi Trovesi and Joy Garrison.

Stefano India is an electric and double bass player, composer and educator. His work explores the harmonic and melodic possibilities of the electric bass, bringing academic research into his performing and compositional practice. He earned degrees in electric bass with distinction and classical double bass at the Conservatorio in Palermo, and studied ensemble music with Mimmo Cafiero at the Open Jazz Club.

He played in the first Matteo Mancuso Trio, touring Europe and developing the group’s live arrangements. His experience spans modern jazz, fusion, rock, pop and orchestral music, with appearances at Jazzahead!, Blue Note Milan, Casa del Jazz in Rome and festivals in Italy and abroad. In 2023 he launched Drop the Bass, a project of original compositions documented in a six-part live studio series. He also performs with the Giuseppe Urso Trio, including on the album Shapes.

Valerio Rizzo is an Italian pianist and accordionist whose work spans classical music and jazz. He began studying as a child with his father and later with Maria Zancana, taking examinations at the Conservatorio Antonio Scontrino in Trapani. He earned an ABRSM diploma in classical piano performance in 2009 and a first-level degree in jazz piano with honours at the Conservatorio Girolamo Frescobaldi in Ferrara in 2014.

He studied jazz at Palermo’s Open Jazz School and performed at the Langnau Jazz Festival in Switzerland. With the Giuseppe Urso Trio, he recorded Shapes (2018) and Nake (2020) for Da Vinci Publishing. His projects also include work with singer-songwriter Serena Ganci and jazz singer Giulia Lorvich. Since the 2018–19 academic year, he has taught jazz piano at the Conservatorio Arturo Toscanini in Ribera. His performing experience includes engagements with Royal Caribbean International and a residency at Belcanto at Dubai Opera.

Chris Hughes is a British drummer, songwriter and record producer whose collaborations include Tears for Fears. He co-wrote Everybody Wants to Rule the World, heard within the medley Sand on Giuseppe Urso’s Nake.

Giuseppe Urso is a musician, composer, arranger and conductor from Palermo. He graduated in symphonic percussion and jazz with top marks and honours. His career spans big bands, symphony orchestras and projects as both bandleader and sideman.

He has performed with Phil Woods, Cedar Walton, Vince Mendoza, Clark Terry, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Liebman, Patti Austin, Rachelle Ferrell, Billy Childs, Diane Schuur, Toots Thielemans, Noa, Jack Walrath, Dave Kikoski, Eumir Deodato, Tigran Hamasyan, Bill Carrothers, Bobby Watson, Ernie Watts, Emil Richards, Joe Porcaro, Martial Solal, Les McCann, Wayne Bergeron, Darren Barrett and John Serry, among others.

His discography includes numerous recordings as a leader and composer, attracting attention in the specialist press. In 2001, readers of Basi Media Magazine voted him Best Italian Jazz Drummer. His recordings as a leader have also featured on RAI’s Fahrenheit and specialist radio stations in the United States.

Alongside his performing career, he has maintained an extensive teaching practice and published educational materials. In 2009, he co-founded the international music school Palermojazz, serving as its teaching director until 2013 and organising courses, workshops and seminars with internationally renowned musicians.

As a composer and performer, he has presented his project Vinum De Cupa at festivals in Italy and abroad. A timpanist, drummer and jazz pianist, he has performed in theatres, festivals and jazz clubs. At Palermo’s Conservatorio Alessandro Scarlatti, he has taught jazz drums and percussion, headed the Jazz Department and helped found and conduct its Jazz Big Band, the Palermo Jazz Orchestra, whose collaborators have included Peter Erskine, Gianluigi Trovesi and Joy Garrison.

Ian Stanley is a British keyboard player, songwriter and record producer who worked with Tears for Fears on its early recordings. He co-wrote Everybody Wants to Rule the World, heard within the medley Sand on Giuseppe Urso’s Nake.

Miles Davis (1926-1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader and composer whose work helped shape successive developments in jazz. His recordings encompass bebop, cool jazz, modal improvisation and electric music. Albums such as Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain and Bitches Brew reflect his continuing search for new musical languages.

Philip Glass, born in Baltimore in 1937, is an American composer whose output encompasses opera, symphonic music, chamber works, film scores and music for his own ensemble. He studied at the University of Chicago and the Juilliard School, then with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, where his work with Ravi Shankar helped shape his approach to rhythm. He founded the Philip Glass Ensemble in New York in 1967. His music is often associated with minimalism, although he prefers the description music with repetitive structures. His operas include Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha and Akhnaten.

Roland Orzabal is a British singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as a founding member of Tears for Fears. He co-wrote Everybody Wants to Rule the World, heard within the medley Sand on Giuseppe Urso’s Nake.

Stefano India is an Italian electric and double bassist, composer and educator. He studied electric bass and classical double bass at the Conservatory in Palermo. His work spans modern jazz, fusion and other contemporary styles. He performs with the Giuseppe Urso Trio and contributes original music to Nake.

Thomas Newman is an American composer born in Los Angeles in 1955. His film music combines acoustic instruments, distinctive chamber textures and electronic sound. His scores include The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty and Finding Nemo. He belongs to the Newman family of film composers and is the son of Alfred Newman.