Riccardo Del Fra (born February 20, 1956, Rome) is an Italian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

double-bassist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. Del Fra first played guitar, then switched to upright bass when he was sixteen years old. He studied at a conservatory, played in the RAI Orchestra, and did work as a

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

for film scores in the 1970s.Andre Clergeat, "Riccardo Del Fra". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

. Concomitantly, he began playing as a sideman in jazz venues in Rome for touring musicians, such as

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

, and

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

. He joined

Enrico Pieranunzi Enrico Pieranunzi (born 5 December 1949) is an Italian jazz pianist. He combines classical technique with jazz. Biography The son of Renata Brillantini and Alvaro Pieranunzi, Enrico Pieranunzi was encouraged to study music at a young age. Hi ...

's ensemble in the late 1970s and played with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

; Del Fra and Baker played together frequently thereafter until Baker's death. Del Fra eventually moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he worked in a trio setting with Alain Jean-Marie and

Al Levitt Alan Levitt (November 11, 1932 – November 28, 1994) was an American jazz drummer. Career Levitt was born in New York City to Ben Levitt (1908-1941) and Florence Cohen Levitt (1912-1950). Early in life he showed an interest in music. In the ea ...

and played local clubs as the backing band for visiting Americans. He also worked with Charles Loos,

Barney Wilen Bernard "Barney" Jean Wilen (4 March 1937 – 25 May 1996) was a French tenor and soprano saxophonist and jazz composer. Life Wilen was born in Nice, France; his father was an American dentist turned inventor, and his mother was French. He began ...

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

Joe Diorio Joseph Louis Diorio (August 6, 1936 – February 2, 2022) was an American jazz guitarist. He performed with Sonny Stitt, Hal Crook, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Horace Silver, Anita O'Day, and Freddie Hubbard. In recent ye ...

, and

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Ge ...

in the 1980s and 1990s.

Discography

* ''Mr. B'' Chet Baker Trio (Timeless, 1983) * ''Chet Baker Trio live at Ronnie Scott's'' (Jazzdor, 1986 and DVD, Wadham Film – Hendring, 1986) * ''Chet Baker Sings Again'' Chet Baker Quartet (Timeless, 1986) * ''La Note Bleue'' (IDA Records 1986) with

* ''French Ballads'' (IDA Records, 1987) with Barney Wilen * ''A Sip of Your Touch'' (IDA Records, 1989) * ''Sorserez'' (1995) with

Jacques Pellen Jacques Pellen (9 April 1957 – 21 April 2020) was a French jazz guitarist. Pellen worked with many musicians over the years such as Peter Gritz, Kenny Wheeler, Bruno Nevez, Henri Texier, Riccardo Del Fra, and violinist Didier Lockwood. He die ...

* ''Paris Suite'' Bob Brookmeyer New Quartet (Challenge, 1995) with

* ''Double Take'' (RAM Records 1998) with

* ''Voulouz Loar – Velluto di Luna'' (GWP, 1998) with

Annie Ebrel Annie Ebrel (born 1969) is a traditional Breton singer of traditional '' Kan ha diskan'' (dance songs) and '' Gwerz'' (ballads). Background Annie Ebrel was born in 1969 in the village of Lohuec, near Callac, Côtes-d'Armor department, part o ...

* ''Soft Talk'' (Sketch, 2000) with

Michel Graillier Michel Graillier (18 October 1946, Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France – 11 February 2003, Paris) was a French jazz pianist. Biography From the ages of four to eighteen, Graillier studied classical piano in Lens, France. During adolescence, he work ...

* ''Overnight'' (Sketch, 2002) with John Taylor and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

* ''Empreintes'' (Sketch, 2003) with Bruno Angelini, Ichirō Onoe * ''Roses and Roots'' (Nocturne, 2005) with Bruno Ruder, Sylvain Rifflet,

Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, ...

* John Ruocco: ''Am I Asking Too Much'' ( Pirouet, 2008) with John Taylor * ''Sky Changes'' (Jazzheads, 2012) with

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

, Benjamin von Gutzeit, Manhattan School of Music Chamber Jazz Ensemble & Tactus * ''My Chet My Song'' (Cristal Records, 2014) with Airelle Besson, Pierrick Pedron, Bruno Ruder,

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bi ...

* ''Moving People'' (Cristal Records, 2018) with

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator and record label owner. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel attended the Philadelphia High School for the ...

, Tomasz Dąbrowski, Jan Prax, Rémi Fox, Carl-Henri Morisset, Jason Brown * ''Chet Visions'' (Cristal, 2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Del Fra, Riccardo Musicians from Rome Italian jazz double-bassists Italian composers Timeless Records artists Challenge Records artists