Tommaso Starace
THEORY & MUSICIANSHIP LESSON VAULT
Jazz Workshop #97 Time is of the Essence
Born in Milano, Italy, Tommaso started playing the saxophone and studying music at the age of 18. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1994 where he graduated at Birmingham Conservatoire with a Bmus first class honours and later at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama with a Postgraduate Degree in jazz studies in the year 2000. He has performed with some of the most respected jazz musicians including Paolo Fresu, Dave O'Higgins, Fabrizio Bosso, Billy Cobham, David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Stan Sulzmann, Paolo Pellegatti.
In 2004 he collaborated with award winning oscar film composer Dario Marianelli ( 'Pride and Prejudice' and ' The Atonement' ) recording music for 'This Little Life', a BBC drama for Channel Four. In 2008 Tommaso was awarded with an Honorary Membership by Birmingham Conservatoire given to him for his significant contributions made across the years within the various branches of the music profession.
Tommaso has peformed at many Jazz Festivals and Clubs across the world, including: The Purcell Room, Blue Note Milano, Cadogan Hall, Eleuthera All That Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival,Time in Jazz Festival, Nuoro Jazz Festival, Brecon Jazz Festival, Torino/Biella/Genova Jazz Clubs, Mito Festival, Chur jazz Club, Luzern jazz Club, and many more.
During this workshop Tommaso will be focusing on the importance of time, space snd groove.
As a saxophonist Tommaso knows so much how easy it is to get stuck in scale, patterns, and harmony theory, but what really matters is time and groove and interlocking with the rhythm section.
As he puts it… “imagine you can get hold of any group of notes and improvise a dance with them, and learn to acquire rhythmical freedom and not be dictated by patterns that you fit in different parts of your improvisation robotically, ending up creating a solo that feels square rather than round and malleable. Time dictates ideas, not the opposite.”
In the workshop we’ll be focusing on some of the great jazz musicians from past and present, and explore some exercises that ground you more in time and swing feel.