A native of Milan, jazz countertenor Emiliano Loconsolo is considered one of the most distinguished and captivating vocalist to emerge from the contemporary Italian scene. He has collaborated with some of the best jazz artists in Europe like Stefano “Cocco” Cantini, Stefano Bollani, Paolino Dalla Porta, and Massimo Manzi. Emiliano has performed at the famous Capolinea club in Milan and at lounges throughout his homeland and Spain, as well as at the Lucca Jazz Festival in Tuscany, Break in Jazz in Milan, and the prestigious Umbria Jazz Winter Festival in Orvieto. Mr. Loconsolo was a semi-finalist for the Italian National Award Premio Massimo Urbani in 2001 and recently a finalist in the 1st International Young Jazz Singers Competition in Brussels. Also in 2005, he was invited to perform at the Bali International Jazz Festival and was the subject of two-part radio specials broadcast on Radio Palermo in Buenos Aires and on Punto Radio Cascina from Pisa, where his recordings were also featured in the Radio Festival of Italian Jazz Singers. Emiliano’s performances have also been heard on ABC Radio in Australia and on public radio in Russia.
An elegant singer with an impressive vocal range, Mr. Loconsolo is unique for his verve in incorporating eighteenth century countertenor technique into a jazz context. His repertoire spans from the early traditional music of his homeland, to the American Songbook and contemporary art songs. Mr. Loconsolo is one of the few performers today interpreting the poignant work of legendary Neapolitan artist Roberto Murolo, little known in the U.S. In 2005 he collaborated with avant-garde jazz icon Irene Aebi on rarely heard and never before performed solo vocal compositions by her husband, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, and was a member of the American premiere of Futurities, a groundbreaking song cycle created by Mr. Lacy and renowned American poet Robert Creeley.
Emiliano Loconsolo has performed in Boston at Scullers, the Harvard Faculty Club, and the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Jordan Hall, and the Berklee Performance Center. He is a co-founder of Newpoli a Boston-based Italian folk group. In Italy, Mr. Loconsolo was the founder of Cantinajazz, a very popular program for three years in Tuscany which explored the artistic relationship between jazz and wine through fascinating narration and live jazz classics. Mr. Loconsolo emigrated to the United States in 2002 upon receiving Berklee School of Music’s international Best Talent Scholarship, their most prestigious 2-year grant, subsequently receiving a merit grant to attend New England Conservatory of Music for advanced studies. His teachers have included John Lockwood, Kevin Mahogany, Cecil McBee, Ran Blake, Dave Holland, Sheila Jordan, Rachel Gould, and Roberta Gambrini. He currently resides in Providence, Rhode Island.
