Primary Instrument: Piano
Aisha is almost ten years-old when she begins to follow private lessons of music and classical piano; Aisha, enrolls, therefore, to “G. Gershwin School” in Padova, and follows, for two years, the jazz courses of M° Sergio Pietruschi.
In the years 1998/99, Aisha was admitted to the Jazz Department of “Sweelinck Conservatory” of Amsterdam; she transfers, therefore, in Holland and follows, in this prestigious institution, courses of ear-training, theory and harmony, arrangement and improvisation.
In 2000, Aisha returns to Italy and becomes student of M° Paolo Birro, of which she follows the teachings for three years. Contemporarily, she enrolls herself to the “Music University “ in Rome; she attends 3 years in one receiving a scholarship for Berklee summer workshops.
She attends the Summer Courses of the “Berklee College”; contemporarily, she participates to numerous Workshops leaded by some of the most important italian and foreign artists (the same Paolo Birro, John Taylor, Larry Goldings, Alain Caron, Stefano Battaglia, Franco D'Andrea, Tony Scott, Maria Pia De Vito);
Subsequently, Aisha overcomes the selection of “Siena Jazz” and accesses the “High Improvement Course for Trio” leaded by popular Italian jazz musicians Stefano Battaglia, Paolino Dalla Porta and Fabrizio Sferra. At the end of this course, she is involved in the realization of a Demo-CD of this workshop and she performs, for two consecutive years, in two concerts at the “Teatro dei Rozzi” in Siena; in the meantime, she attends the Conservatorium in Venice, studying classical piano with M° Anna Barutti.
In 2001, she is finalist in a contest organized by Yamaha Music Co. and presided by Enrico Pierannunzi.
Aisha Ruggieri has been often mentioned by many national daily news-papers (Gazzettino, Mattino di Padova, Gazzetta di Modena, Resto del Carlino), and always she's been defined as “... young Italian promise of the jazz-piano...”, “...emergent talent of the jazz-piano... “; during the “Padova Porsche Jazz Festival”, many TV Broadcasting Stations have interviewed her, devoting her ample space;
Experimenting new sounds and new expression techniques, in the last months of 2003, Aisha has participated, with her quartet , to a lot of important events, among which:
“EtnoMusic Competition” in Milano (event in which Stanley Jordan has performed as special guest); in this contest, Aisha Ruggieri Quartet has been classified at 3° absolute placement, introducing original musics interely written and arranged by Aisha for quartet; “Jazz Festival of Moncalieri”; Terni Jazz Festival Padova Jazz Festival Modena Jazz Festival Woma Jazz Festival Fandango Jazz festival Lucca Jazz Festival Siena Jazz Festival and others…
Contemporarily to her projects about trio and quartet, Aisha Ruggieri she works in orchestral context: from the beginnings of 2004, in fact, she has become the official pianist of “Luca Flores Big Band”, directed by A. Di Puccio and S. Bonafede, with which she has performed, 2004 February 29, in Modena (see “ Events “ section) before Geri Allen.
At the end of 2004, she begins to visit frequently NY City , where she has the possibility to meet Paul Gill and Joe Strasser, the musicians of the trio with who she records A-SYMMETRY, her cd debut.
Actually, Aisha leads her trio and her quintet (with special guests Fabrizio Bosso and Robert Bonisolo) and works in the meantime, also as free lance and composer/arranger.
She has toured in Italy with her NYC Trio, performing in some of the most popular jazz clubs.
