RICHARD PIZZORNO
Richard Pizzorno
was born in Monaco on April 8, 1955.
He started playing the accordion when he was only three years old, then trained as a violoncellist at the Monaco Academy of Music. In parallel Richard studied the organ and the piano, while also playing in several orchestras and variety jazz bands.
Over a distinguished career, Richard has shared the stage with such legendary performers as Barney WILEM (saxophone for Miles DAVIS), Michel LEGRAND, Frank SINATRA, Sammy DAVIS JR., Whitney HOUSTON, Julia MIGENES-JOHNSON, Ronnie CUBER (saxophone for George BENSON), George ROBERT, and Sandy PATTON, among others.
He has toured with Michel FUGAIN, Anna PRUCNAL, and Magali NOËL, while as a member of the PEPE LIENHARD BAND he toured with Udo JÜRGENS and Catarina VALENTE.
Richard has also appeared in several televised performances, notably as pianist for ELSA, Laurent VOULZY, ADAMO and Mireille MATHIEU.
At the Rose d'Or International Festival in Montreux, he performed with Quincy JONES as part of the Quincy Jones Show. At the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival, he featured in the first part of Joe SAMPLE's concert with the CRUSADERS.
Yet Richard's live performances are only one aspect of his work. As a highly regarded studio artist, he has made innumerable contributions to recording projects across Europe, among which his collaborations with André CECARELLI and Jean-Paul CECARELLI (ex-drummer for STING and Chick COREA). In fact, Richard's service record spans the entire globe, for he once even lent his studio skills to Chinese and British television broadcasters in Hong Kong.
Richard regularly participates in recording sessions in a variety of roles (composer, arranger, producer, musician). He has even made (would you believe it?) the soundtracks for several comedy shows by the Swiss comedian Marie Thérèse PORCHET.
Richard appears on stage at concerts and festivals under various artistic guises, whether as soloist for the Chamber Orchestras of Basel, Zürich and Geneva, the Symphonic Orchestra of Bienne and the MIT Symphonic Orchestra (Boston, USA), or as band member in Panorama Syndicate, Daccordeon, Richard Pizzorno Trio, Richard Pizzorno Hammond Trio, 676 Nuevotango, Viaggio, Double Version, etcetera....
Since 2018, Richard Pizzorno has been working on a extensive project of musical compositions. The first 13 songs, echoing as many video clips, explore various musical styles. "CONNECTIONS" brings together 18 musicians, including: Vincent Peirani, André Ceccarelli, Diego Imbert, Sébastien Surel and Minino Garay. Following from the project, there will be an upcoming release of a live jazz CD, with André Ceccarelli and Diego Imbert.
"RED" was released in May 2020.
Richard teached jazz piano at the Fribourg Conservatory (Switzerland), where he was Dean of the Jazz Section from 1994 to 2006. As a lecturer at the Fribourg section of the HEMU (Haute Ecole de Musique) of Lausanne, he was till 2016 dedicated to train the professional musicians of tomorrow in the arts of improvisation, accompaniment and jazz piano.