Roberto Magris

Roberto Magris (born June 19, 1959) is an Italian jazz pianist. He was born in Trieste, Italy, but is currently based in the United States. In addition to being a bandleader and arranger, Magris is a composer, concert performer, and recording artist who has issued over 30 albums under his own name or as co-leader and has toured in over 42 different countries in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Australia, performing at top jazz clubs, theatres and festivals around the world.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Magris began performing professionally in the late 1970s. Throughout his career, he has performed and recorded with a list of jazz legends and outstanding musicians, including Art Davis, Herb Geller, Albert Tootie Heath, Idris Muhammad, Ira Sullivan, Sam Reed, Brian Lynch, Tony Lakatos, Mark Colby, Chuck Bergeron, Paul Carr, Franco Ambrosetti, Philip Catherine, Bill Molenhof, Janusz Muniak, Bosko Petrovic, Kai Winding, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Sal Nistico, and with a bunch of rising stars such as Hermon Mehari, Logan Richardson, Kendall Moore, Brandon Lee, Shareef Clayton, Jim Mair, Matt Otto, Elisa Pruett, Peter Schlamb, Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Pablo Sanhueza and others.

Since 2006, Magris has mainly focused his musical interests in the United States by becoming the leading artist and musical director of Kansas City-based JMood Records label.,^[10] releasing 15 CDs under his name. In the United States, Magris has performed in Los Angeles (The Jazz Bakery, Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood), Kansas City (The Blue Room), Miami (The WDNA Jazz Gallery), Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, Des Moines, Ft. Lauderdale. In 2007 he was honored by the City Council of Kansas City for his contribution to jazz music and performance at the American Jazz Museum.

In the 1980s he led the jazz trio Gruppo Jazz Marca and recorded three albums, Comunicazione Sonora (1982), Aria Di Città (1983) and Mitteleuropa (1986), re-issued in 2006 by the English Label Arision. In 1987 he founded his Italian quartet, which operated for nearly 20 years, performing tours in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America and recording two albums, Life in Israel (issued by Jazzis) and Maliblues. In the 1990s he founded the acid-jazz groups DMA Urban Jazz Funk and Alfabeats Nu Jazz, performing in Europe and in America and recording two albums, Up To The Beat (2003) and Stones (2006). In 1998 Magris formed the Europlane Orchestra (a central-European jazz venture sponsored by INCE-CEI Central European Initiative) including some outstanding European jazz musicians. With the Europlane Orchestra he recorded 3 albums, Live At Zooest, Plays Kurt Weill with Austrian singer Ines Reiger, and Current Views (issued by Soul Note) ^[11] with Philip Catherine, Bill Molenhof, Roberto Ottaviano a.o.

In 2005 Magris partnered with Hungarian saxophonist Tony Lakatos and Austrian saxophonist Michael Erian on the album Check-In (issued by Soul Note).^[12][13] In 2006 Magris collaborated with bassist Art Davis and drummer Jimmy "Junebug" Jackson on the album Kansas City Outbound (issued by JMood).^[14] That same year, he collaborated with alto saxophonist Herb Geller on the album Il Bello del Jazz (issued by Soul Note)^[15] and some years later, the JMood Records released a more album with Herb Geller entitled An Evening With Herb Geller & The Roberto Magris Trio - Live in Europe 2009.^[16][17]

In the United States, Magris has also recorded two albums in tribute to the late trumpeter Lee Morgan, Morgan Rewind: A Tribute to Lee Morgan, Volumes 1 and 2,^[18][19] two albums albums devoted to the music of pianist Elmo Hope,^[20][21] and another to the legacy of alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.^[22] He has also recorded one album in Los Angeles with Idris Muhammad and saxmen Paul Carr and Michael O'Neill, Mating Call,^[23] one album with Philadelphia jazz icon Sam Reed, Sam Reed Meets Roberto Magris - Ready For Reed,^[24] one double CD set in tribute to the historical be-bop era, Aliens In A Bebop Planet, three albums with his trio from Kansas City including bassist Dominique Sanders, drummer Brian Steever, and percussionist Pablo Sanhueza, Enigmatix,^[25][26] Need To Bring Out Love,^[27] World Gardens and the critically acclaimed Roberto Magris Sextet Live in Miami @ The WDNA Jazz Gallery with a stellar group including Grammy Award winner Brian Lynch.^[28][29][30]

In Europe, Magris has been performing at festivals and jazz clubs with the MUH Trio (Roberto Magris/Frantisek Uhlir/Jaromir Helesic Trio), which has its base in Prague and has recorded the album Prague After Dark (issued by JMood).^[31][32]

Critic Brian Morton on Jazz Journal called Magris “the most interesting bop/post-bop pianist on the current European scene.”

Critic Edward Blanco at AllAboutJazz called Magris "one of the finest piano players on the planet."^[33]

Noted jazz critic Ira Gitler wrote, “As a pianist, [Magris] reflects some of his most admired models - Wynton Kelly, Tommy Flanagan, Bill Evans, Kenny Drew, Jaki Byard, Randy Weston, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Paul Bley, Don Pullen and Steve Kuhn - (a varied group indeed) in his own way. There is a quick, supple right hand and the rich harmonies of the two-handed transition in his playing that don’t necessarily summon up instant comparisons to any of the above or others.”^[34]

Magris has performed concerts for jazz piano, orchestra, and strings with the Big Band Ritmo Sinfonica from Verona and the Orchestra Giovanile del Veneto, recording the album Restless Spirits (issued by Velut Luna).^[35]

Discography

• Gruppo Jazz Marca - Comunicazione Sonora (IAF, 1982 - re-issued by Arision, 2005)
• Gruppo Jazz Marca - Aria di Città (IAF, 1983 - re-issued by Arision, 2009)
• Gruppo Jazz Marca - Mitteleuropa (Gulliver, 1986 - re-issued by Arision, 2006)
• Roberto Magris Israsextet - Life In Israel, with Ofer Israeli, Larry Smith a.o. (Jazzis, 1990)
• Roberto Magris & The D.I. Project - Music of Today, with Achim Goettert, Joerg Drewing, Albrecht Riermeier, Martin Klingeberg, Rudi Engel a.o. (Splasch, 1992)
• Maliblues (Map, 1994)
• DMA Urban Jazz Funk - Up to the Beat (Map, 2003)
• Europlane Orchestra - Live at Zooest, with František Uhlíř, Darko Jurkovich, Marko Lackner, Lojze Krajncan, Julius Baros a.o. (Zooest, 1998)
• Europlane Orchestra - Plays Kurt Weill, with Ines Reiger a.o. (Pull, 2000)
• Roberto Magris Europlane feat. Tony Lakatos – Check-In, with Tony Lakatos, Michael Erian, Robert Balzar a.o. (Soul Note, 2005)
• Alfabeats Nu Jazz - Stones (Oasis, 2006)
• Roberto Magris Europlane feat. Herb Geller – Il bello del Jazz, with Herb Geller (Soul Note, 2006)
• Current Views, with Philip Catherine, Bill Molenhof, Roberto Ottaviano a.o. (Soul Note, 2009)
• Kansas City Outbound with Art Davis and Jimmy „Junebug“ Jackson (JMood, 2008)
• Big Band Ritmo-Sinfonica Città Di Verona Plays The Music Of Roberto Magris - Restless Spirits (Velut Luna, 2009)
• Mating Call with Paul Carr, Michael O'Neill, Elisa Pruett and Idris Muhammad (JMood, 2010)
• Roberto Magris Quartet with Voice - Canzoni Italiane In Jazz, with Maria Dal Rovere a.o. (Pop-Eye, 2011)
• Morgan Rewind: A Tribute to Lee Morgan Vol. 1 (JMood, 2012) with Brandon Lee, Logan Richardson, Elisa Pruett and Albert Tootie Heath
• One Night in With Hope and More, Vol. 1 with Elisa Pruett and Albert Tootie Heath (JMood, 2012)
• Aliens In A Bebop Planet with Matt Otto, Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Pablo Sanhueza and Eddie Charles (JMood, 2012)
• Sam Reed Meets Roberto Magris - Ready For Reed with Sam Reed, Kendall Moore, Steve Lambert, Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever and Pablo Sanhueza (JMood, 2013)
• Cannonball Funk'N Friends with Hermon Mehari, Jim Mair, Dominique Sanders and Alonzo Scooter Powell (JMood, 2013)
• One Night In With Hope And More, Vol. 2 with Elisa Pruett, Brian Steever and Albert Tootie Heath (JMood, 2013)
• Morgan Rewind: A Tribute to Lee Morgan Vol. 2 with Hermon Mehari, Jim Mair, Peter Schlamb, Elisa Pruett, Brian Steever and Pablo Sanhueza (JMood, 2013)
• An Evening with Herb Geller & The Roberto Magris Trio – Live in Europe 2009, with Herb Geller a.o. (JMood, 2014)
• Enigmatix with Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Pablo Sanhueza and Monique Danielle (JMood, 2015)
• Need To Bring Out Love with Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Julia Haile and Monique Danielle (JMood, 2016)
• The MUH Trio - Magris/Uhlir/Helesic Trio - Prague After Dark with František Uhlíř and Jaromir Helesic (JMood, 2017)
• Roberto Magris Sextet Live in Miami @ The WDNA Jazz Gallery with Brian Lynch, Jonathan Gomez, Chuck Bergeron, John Yarling and Murph Aucamp (JMood, 2017)
• World Gardens with Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever and Pablo Sanhueza (JMood, 2018)

References