Raffaele Gualazzi (born 11 November 1981), better known as Raphael Gualazzi, is an Italian singer and

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 ...

. He was born in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

Biography

''Love Outside the Window''

On 16 September 2005, Gualazzi released his first studio album, titled '' Love Outside the Window'' and distributed by

Edel Music Edel is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Abraham Edel (1908–2007), North American philosopher and ethicist * Alfred William Edel (c. 1930–2005), American television news presenter * Apoula Edel ...

. In 2008, Gualazzi recorded a cover of "

Georgia on My Mind "Georgia on My Mind" is a 1930 song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell and first recorded that same year by Hoagy Carmichael. However, the song has been most often associated with soul singer Ray Charles, who was a native of the U. ...

" for the compilation ''Piano Jazz'', released in France by

Wagram Music Wagram Music is a French independent record company based in Paris, with offices in Berlin and Los Angeles. Record company Wagram's catalog covers various music genres such as French pop, Rock and Pop, world, electronic music, Reggae, Soul, ...

Sanremo Festival 2011

In September 2010 he released a self-titled digital EP in Italy and Europe. The EP features a cover of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

's " Don't Stop" and three new songs written by Gualazzi, including his first single, "Reality and Fantasy". The song was later released in a remix version by British/French DJ

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

. On 18 February 2011, he won the

Sanremo Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian culture, Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longes ...

in the Newcomers section, the Critics' "

Mia Martini Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com Follia d'amore "Follia d'amore" is a song by Raphael Gualazzi. It was the winner of the Sanremo Music Festival 2011 in the newcomer artists' section and also won the Critics' "Mia Martini" Award for newcomers. On 19 February 2011, Gualazzi was chosen by a spec ...

". The song is included in Gualazzi's second studio album, ''

Reality and Fantasy ''Reality and Fantasy'' is the second studio album by Italian jazz singer Raphael Gualazzi, composed, produced and arranged by Gualazzi himself, it was released in Italy on February 16, 2011 on Sugar Music. Background The album features guest ...

'', released on 16 February 2011 by

Sugar Music Sugar Music is a vertically integrated, family owned, independent business, active globally as a record label, music publisher, soundtrack and audio-visual producer. The company is headquartered in Milan, Italy. History Established in 1932 by Lad ...

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

On 19 February 2011, Gualazzi was chosen among the participants at the Sanremo Festival 2011 to represent Italy at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

, held in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Gualazzi was the first Italian singer to represent the country since the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. "Madness of Love" finished second out of 43 participating countries with 189 points, 32 points behind the winning song " Running Scared".

Sanremo Festival 2013

On 13 December 2013, his participation in the "Big Artists" section in the

Sanremo Music Festival 2013 The Sanremo Music Festival 2013 (''63° Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo 2013'') was the 63rd annual Sanremo Music Festival, a televised song contest held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, Liguria, between 12 and 16 February 2013 and b ...

is confirmed with the songs "Senza ritegno" and "Sai (ci basta un sogno)". His third studio album, ''Happy Mistake'', is released on 14 February 2013. On 12 February 2013, during the first night of the Sanremo Festival, "Sai (ci basta un sogno)" is chosen as Gualazzi's song for the rest of the competition; the song finished in fifth position in the final.

Sanremo Festival 2014

In 2014, he took part in the "Big Artists" section in Sanremo 2014 for the second year in a row, this time together with

The Bloody Beetroots The Bloody Beetroots is an Italian electronic music project of musician and producer Bob Rifo (also Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo and SBCR, born Simone Cogo). Established in late 2006, the Bloody Beetroots were initially a duo consisting of Bob Rifo an ...

, with the songs "Liberi o no" and "Tanto ci sei". They took second place in the final with the song "Liberi o no".

Sanremo Festival 2020

He participated at the

Sanremo Music Festival 2020 The Sanremo Music Festival 2020 ( it, 70º Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo 2020) was the 70th edition of the annual Sanremo Music Festival, a television song contest held in the Teatro Ariston of Sanremo and organised and broadcast by ...

with the song "Carioca".

Discography

Filmography

*''

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

'' - Tamatoa (2016)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Raphael Gualazzi
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Video of a concert at the Unesco's First International Jazz Day, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gualazzi, Raphael Italian jazz singers 1981 births Living people People from Urbino Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2011 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Italy Sanremo Music Festival winners of the newcomers section 21st-century Italian male singers Italian male pianists 21st-century pianists Male jazz musicians