Luca Aquino

Life and career

Born in the town of Benevento, in Southern Italy, he was mainly self-taught when he began to play the trumpet at the age of nineteen. For two years he abandoned the practice of the instrument to pursue a Master degree in Economics. The love for the sound of Miles Davis and Chet Baker brings him back to the study of trumpet and leads him to devote himself completely to music. In 2007 Universal Music published his first album as leader "Sopra Le Nuvole" and a year later he recorded "Lunaria", with guest Roy Hargrove and Maria Pia De Vito, for which he won the "Top Jazz" award by the Italian magazine Musica Jazz. In 2009, he recorded in the ancient Turkish bath of Skopje (Macedonia) "Amam", then "TSC "in a church in the Netherlands. In 2010, he recorded "Icaro Solo", a project for solo trumpet and electronics recorded in a church in Benevento. After creating the festival Riverberi, he initiated collaborations with musicians and artists; including Mimmo Paladino that led to the registration of "Chiaro", an album in trio with a Norwegian rhythm section and featuring as a special guest Lucio Dalla. In 2012, after a major live project with Jon Hassell, for the Church of Saint Augustine in Benevento, he joined the quartet of the percussionist Manu Katché and recorded two albums with them. In 2013 along with the accordionist Carmine Ioanna he recorded “aQustico” for Tuk Music and embarked with him on a world tour. 2015 is the year of his seventh album as bandleader: "OverDOORS", a personal tribute to his favorite band, The Doors. In December 2015 he jointly worked with the Jordanian National Association Orchestra on a music recording project in the archaeological site of Petra. The natural reverberations of the archaeological site generated during the performance are an integral part of the recording. The project was made possible by the support of UNESCO Amman Office, the Petra Development and Tourism Authority and the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org). An initiative promoted within the framework of the global campaign #UNITE4HERITAGE, launched by UNESCO in defense of the artistic and cultural heritage. After having directed the " Pozzuoli Jazz Festival " and the " Bari Jazz " , on April 7th 2016 he took part in the event " Manu & Friends " sharing the stage of the Olympia in Paris with Sting , Richard Bona, Noa, Stephan Eicher, Raul Midon and Tore Brunborg. 2016 is also the year of the production and the commercial launch of the signature trumpet model "Aquino", which was handcrafted by the Dutch artisan Hub Van Laar based on Luca’s musical touch.

Style

His musical influences are rooted in the early plays of Baker and Davis, for which he was given the nickname of "Apostle of Miles ", but also in the Rock of The Doors, AC/DC in the Jefferson Airplane, Muddy Waters, Little Steven and are reflected in projects ranging between different musical genres, including jazz, hip hop and grunge. He is known for his musical research on the natural sound, the use of electronics and his passion for musical experimentation in unusual places, for which he is also described as "Innovative sonic explorer"

Selected discography

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004