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Giulia Valle

Bassist and Composer Giulia Valle was born in San Remo, Italy but raised in Barcelona. Her love for music began at a very young age—from classical to Italian showgirl Rafaella Carrá. She began studying piano at eight years old. When she discovered Jazz just a few short years later Mingus’ “Goodbye Porkpie Hat” and Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk were the first pieces that stuck in her mind. “Live at Pershing” from Ahmad Jamal Trio was the first record she learned by heart, hammering away on her father’s Farfisa keyboard.

Much of her musical education is owed to her father who, during her childhood, spent many months a year in Brazil and Argentina, bringing back tapes for Giulia of the folkloristic music he encountered: Samba, Baiao, Bossa, Chacarera. Meanwhile she was diving deeper into Classical, discovering more and more Beethoven and being swept away by the late Romantic and Impressionist movements.

In her early teens she became hooked on hard rock, from Led Zeppelin to Jimi Hendrix. “You are too young to buy those records” was a refrain she heard often. She began experimenting with an electric bass and after a few months she began lessons at Taller de Músics in Barcelona. After less than a year she was deeply engaged with the upright bass, studying at the conservatory in Liceu, at the Taller de Músics, and taking private lessons with the renowned Mario Rossy (brother of Jorge Rossy).

As soon as she was able, she began taking short trips to Paris to continue her classical training with Francois Rabbath. After a while, and with a grant from the Catalán government, she started travelling to New York, meeting great musicians and studying with people such as Ben Street and Bruce Barth. From 1999 through 2003 she spent three months a year in the United States.

At age 27, Giulia created her first ensemble, the Giulia Valle Group, with a cast of musicians from the Barcelona scene. Shortly thereafter, she recorded an album with American musicians Jason Lindner, Bill McHenry, and John McNeil. These were formative experiences that shaped what would become a lifelong passion for composition and arrangements. Her ensemble came to be a touchstone of the Spanish Jazz scene, with live performances received enthusiastically by fans and critics alike. The ensemble recorded five records under the Fresh Sound Record imprint.

In 2008, her ensemble was invited to perform at the Jazz Ahead Music Conference in Bremen, to resounding success. From that success the ensemble began touring widely around Europe, performing dynamic sets at prestigious venues.

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Album Review

Giulia Valle Group: Danza Imprevista

Read "Danza Imprevista" reviewed by Farrell Lowe


How refreshing and inspiring it is to hear a recording like Danza Imprevista. The level of musicianship, sincerity, and compositional verve is immediately apparent from the opening notes of the opening track. Here is an excellent example of a quintet speaking as one voice. The commitment that this group brings to these compositions is what brings this music alive so passionately.All of the music was written and arranged by bassist Giulia Valle with the exception of “Musica Das ...

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Album Review

Giulia Valle Group: Danza Imprevista

Read "Danza Imprevista" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff


Secondo disco a nome della contrabbassista catalana Giulia Valle, alla testa di un agguerrito quintetto di musicisti spagnoli. Il lavoro si inserisce molto originalmente in uno spazio intermedio tra un jazz moderno molto dinamico e certe forme di avanguardia sperimentale statunitense, rimanendo sempre molto fruibile senza però mostrare un solo momento prevedibile.Va detto che i musicisti appaiono tutti preparatissimi e interagiscono con grande efficacia, risultato che va a merito della leader, la cui presenza si fa sentire ritmicamente ...

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"...There´s a Haidenish quality to the playing... the group sound is quite distinctive. Catch up with her, Valle´s going to be a star” Brian Morton | Jazz Journal – London

“Nowadays European jazz scene will have to count on G.Valle’s talent” -Jacques Denis, Jazz Magazine - France.

“Anyone interested on modern jazz artists like Chris Potter, David Binney, Dave Holland… should find the music of Giulia Valle of great interest” -Farrell Lowe, All about Jazz - U.S.A

“A visual and deeply evoking music, a form of Jazz reaching excellence, a great complicity between all band members…” Pierre Palomé , César –France

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Enchanted house

Fresh Sound Records
2017

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Giulia Valle Group...

Fresh Sound Records
2012

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Berenice

Fresh Sound Records
2010

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Danza Imprevista

Fresh Sound Records
2007

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Colorista

Fresh Sound Records
2004

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