Tullio De Piscopo (born 24 February 1946 in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

) is an Italian drummer, percussionist and singer- songwriter. De Piscopo was born in Naples. His father was an orchestra percussionist. In 1969 he moved to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

and two years later he moved to Milan, where he joined the Franco Cerri quintet. He later began a successful career as session drummer, playing with many international artists, including

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

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 ...

, Stéphane Grappelli,

Massimo Urbani Massimo Urbani (8 May 1957 – 24 June 1993) was an Italian jazz alto saxophonist. He played principally in the bebop style. Life and career Urbani was born in Primavalle, Rome on 8 May 1957, the oldest of five brothers.Bailey, C. Michael (18 ...

, Gil Evans,

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugel ...

, Don Costa,

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

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, Aldemaro Romero, Gato Barbieri, Eumir Deodato, Mina,

Lucio Dalla Lucio Dalla (; 4 March 1943 – 1 March 2012) was an Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He also played clarinet and keyboards. Dalla was the composer of " Caruso" (1986), a song dedicated to Italian opera tenor Enrico Caruso, and ...

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Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter, the most prominent ''cantautore'' of his time. His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political pr ...

, Pino Daniele,

Manu Chao Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek, and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his mu ...

and others. Between the 1970s and 1980s, De Piscopo played on several occasions with

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

Pino Presti, with whom he established one of the top rhythm sessions in the Italian music scene. In 1974 and 1975, he was a member of New Trolls Atomic System. In 1979 De Piscopo played the drums in the album '' L'era del cinghiale bianco'' by the singer-songwriter

. The album reached the number one spot in Italy immediately after its publishing. In 2021, Tullio De Piscopo formed a jazz trio formed by him (

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

), Aldo Zunino ( bass player),

Dado Moroni Edgardo "Dado" Moroni (born 20 October 1962) is an Italian jazz pianist and composer. Biography A self-taught musician, Dado, who was born in Genoa, Italy, started playing piano at age four. By his mid-teens he was playing professionally around ...

(

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

) . De Piscopo released his first solo album, ''Suonando la batteria moderna'', in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

. One of his most successful songs is "Andamento lento", which won Festivalbar in 1988. His 1983 single, "Stop Bajon (Primavera)" reached No.1 spot in Italy and No.58 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in March 1987. His 1985 song "Radio Africa" (written by

Lino Nicolosi Nicolosi Productions is an Italian record label founded by brothers Pino Nicolosi and Lino Nicolosi. They produce various genres including jazz, soul, funk, and Italian pop music. Artists produced include Al Jarreau, Billy Cobham, Billy Prest ...

and Dora Carofiglio) was a collaboration with Guinean singer Mory Kanté. He is also the owner of the record label

Bagaria Lluís Bagaria i Bou (1882 in Barcelona – 1940 in Havana) one of the most important Spanish caricaturists in the first half of the 20th century. His drawings, in a synthetic and decorative style, were published in the most important journals of ...

. He also wrote scores for several

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

. Current

DragonForce DragonForce are a British power metal band from London, England. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced ...

drummer Gee Anzalone was taught by Piscopo at the NAMM Academy in Milan and refers to him as an influence.

Discography

* ''Suonando la batteria moderna'' (1974) * ''Volume 2'' (1975) * ''Concerto per un film: L'arma'' (1978) * ''Live'' (1981) * ''Metamorphosis'' (1981) * ''Acqua e viento'' (1983) * ''Passaggio da Oriente'' (1985) * ''Drum Symphony'' (1986) * ''Bello carico'' (1988) * ''Album'' (1989) * ''De Piscopo'' (1991) * ''Cosmopolitana'' (1993) * ''Zzacotturtaic'' (1995) * ''Pasión mediterranea'' (1997) * ''Jazz Friends'' (2000) * ''Live in Zurich at Mood's Club'' (2004) * ''Bona Jurnata'' (2007)

References

External links

Official site
(note: flash-only) {{DEFAULTSORT:De Piscopo, Tullio 1946 births Living people Musicians from Naples Italian jazz drummers Male drummers Italian pop musicians Italian session musicians Italian bandleaders Italian male singers Tango musicians 20th-century Italian musicians 21st-century Italian musicians 20th-century drummers 21st-century drummers 20th-century Italian male musicians 21st-century Italian male musicians Male jazz musicians Italian drummers