Giuseppe Magagnino
In the style of the Salentine pianist Giuseppe Magagnino, deep connections with the Afro-American jazz tradition can be traced, integrated, in a very personal way, to sounds and suggestions from north European contemporary jazz. His approach to the art of extempore improvisation blends in a fluid way with his inner compositive world, marked by a strong melodic component, a characteristic of the great Italian musical tradition.

He recorded “My Inner Child,” his first album as a soloist, in 2021 with the “Mag Trio”, accompanied by Luca Alemanno, double bass, and Karl-Henrik Ousbäck at the drums.

“My Inner Child,” published by GleAM Records, highlights the compositive and communicative skills of the Salentine pianist, both in piano trio and in a short piano solo performance.

Giuseppe got a Degree in Pianoforte at the Lecce Conservatory “Tito Schipa” (Lecce Academy of Music), and he later got a magna cum laude Graduation Degree in Jazz Music at the Bari Conservatory “Nicolò Piccinni”. He attended several intensive seminars studying under Pier Narciso Masi, classical music, and jazz with Stefano Bollani. From the very start, his career was enriched with important experiences and collaborations.

He founded the Mag Trio, and made several concerts with this group in collaboration with various Apulian jazz musicians.

He supported the recording projects of the Salentine percussionist Gabriele Poso and took part to several international promotion concert tours.

American producer Osunlade chose Giuseppe for the formation of the Yoruba Soul Orchestra. With this orchestra, Giuseppe recorded two records and took part to international tours.

In 2009 he started his collaboration with violinist Alessandro Quarta with whom he performed in prestigious Italian and European theatres with a repertoire ranging from classical music to jazz. He collaborated with orchestra conductor Walter Attanasi, with the Prague String Orchestra, the Rome Philharmonics and the String Quartet of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

With Alessandro Quarta’s Quintet he accompanied the English jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris, Stefano di Battista, Ornella Vanoni and Toquinho, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Mike Stern, James Taylor Quartet and Amii Stewart.

During the “Alessandro Quarta Plays Astor Piazzolla” tour Giuseppe performed at the Parco della Musica in Rome and at the Auditorium of the “Arvedi” Violin Museum in Cremona. He also played with Alessandro Quarta in the Italian tour of “Il Volo” at the Taormina Greek Theatre and at the Arena of Verona.

Over the years, Giuseppe collaborated with several record labels as a pianist and an arranger.

In 2007 he started teaching at the Yamaha Music School in Lecce as an expert in arranging techniques for ensemble music and jazz piano.