Merano, Italy

March 8, 1941

Keyboardist and Italian pianist who's been busy working with visiting American musicians and cutting free and jazz rock dates since the '60s, Franco D'Andrea's earliest sessions came with Nunzio Rotondo and Gato Barbieri. Then he recorded with Franco Ambrosetti, Giorgio Azzolini, and Giovanni Tommaso, plus Gianni Basso and Enrico Rava. D'Andrea formed the Modern Art Trio in 1968 and four years later, played with the jazz-rock group Perigeo. He worked with a host of visiting American jazz greats, including Dexter Gordon, Slide Hampton, Max Roach, and Lucky Thompson and has recorded with Lee Konitz, Conte Candoli, and Johnny Griffin. He joined Rava's quartet in 1979, and formed his own group in 1983. ~ Ron Wynn