Biography
Pianist and composer, born in Naples, Italy, in 1956. Graduated in architecture at the University of Florence in 1980, he has been autodidactic since he was ten years old. He started his professional activity in Florence in the seventies, joining different Italian jazz bands (Fabio Morgera, Sandro di Puccio, Paolo Fresu etc.).
He has been in Rio de Janeiro since 1986, playing in the most prestigious night-club and theatres with some of the greatest brasilian musicians : Robertinho Silva, Raul de Souza, Claudio Roditi, Carlos Malta, Idriss Boudrioua etc.
In 1992 to celebrate on the tenth anniversary of the death of Thelonious Monk, he staged a show entirely dedicated to Monk’s works obtaining a great success and receiving rave reviews.
In 1996 he recorded his first own cd ,” Harmonia”, considered one of the best jazz records of modern mainstream in Brazil, and in 1999 his second, “Brasileiro”, all with brasilian rhythm and his jazz oriented overview .
He recorded also three cds with Rio de Janeiro Jazz Trio, with Andy Potter on drums and Paulo Russo on bass, “ Marakablu” , “ Pulso Forte” and “ Bop till you drop” . “Marakablu” was indicated to the Latin Grammy 2001.
In 2001, April, opening the week of jazz festival of New Orleans, Dario played at “Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro”, one of the most prestigious Jazzclubs of the city with Ray Moore on sax and Ricky Sebastian on drums.
In the same year, July, took part of the XXII Internacional Jazz Festival of Montreal, Canada, playing with Jean Pierre Zanella (alto sax) and Idriss Boudrioua (tenor sax) at Club do Maurier.
In 2003, August, he played at Marciac Jazz Festival in France with Claudio Roditi, Raul de Souza ( trombone ), Mauricio Einhorn (harmonica), Reggie Johnson (bass), Lula Galvão (ac.guitar) in a band called “52 street in Rio”.
He recorded his third cd, “Awé” with own compositions influenced by World music, Indian, Napolitan, Free jazz and Brasilian. Claudio Roditi on trumpet, playing a beautiful Italian song composed by Gaetano Donizetti in 1835 and Carlos Malta on baritone sax playing a Dario’s Tarantella are two special guests.
Featuring also Ray Moore on clarinet, Jean Pierre Zanella and Idriss Boudrioua on alto sax, Augusto Mattoso on bass and Rafael Barata on drums