Palmino Pia
Born in Turin in 1953 where he still lives. He started studying the piano at the age of 8, then subsequently went on to perfect his talent with that instrument under the guidance of excellent teachers and he then decided to take up the activity professionally without posing any stylistic limits, having the background of sound instrumental (and musical in the broadest sense) grounding which allows him to alternate between jazz and rock and even to light pop music. After having several years of playing in various prestigious “easy listening” groups he decided to dedicate himself to the music which he prefers most, jazz. He performs frequently in Piedmont clubs, from the historic and glorious “Swing Club” to the more trendy clubs with some of the most renowned Turin musicians, from Flavio Boltro to Carlo Actis-Dato and Luigi Tessarolo. Together with Fulvio Albano and Claudio Chiara he formed a sextet which plays exclusively original compositions and has already performed several concerts including the Jazz Festivals at Briançon, Montgenèvre and Coutances (France). Currently he is very busy with his own project which involves the interaction of a string quartet and a jazz trio working on original compositions and original arrangements. An expert composer and above all arranger, one can certainly say that there is not a big-band in Turin which has not collaborated with him both as a pianist and arranger/orchestrator. He frequently works with RAI, for which he has composed and arranged various interesting works always using large orchestral groups. Several of his compositions and orchestrations appear in the Scomegna Musical Publications catalogue. He currently performs as a pianist/arranger in the group “Anonima Vocali” which is a splendid vocal quintet offering an Italian “revisit” of the classic “vocalese”. He also performs frequently with the Gianni Basso’s big-band. He has participated in various festivals, including the Turin JVC Festivals and the l’Eurofestival of Ivrea, where he played with the American soloists, Bob Mover and Benny Bailey. In addition to his concert performances he also takes an interest in education, as shown by the teachining posts of the piano and arrangements/orchestrations which he occupied from 1985 to 1994 at the “Centro Jazz” of Turin.
