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Carlos Franzetti

Carlos Franzetti is a musical virtuoso without bounds, traversing genres from symphonies to big band jazz, chamber works to Latin American rhythms, and enchanting film scores. His musical journey has been adorned with accolades, including five Latin Grammy® Awards and a Grammy® Award as a producer for the mesmerizing "Tangos" CD in 2015. This versatile artist has also been nominated for Grammys® and Latin Grammys® multiple times, showcasing his exceptional talent and unwavering dedication to music.

Throughout his illustrious career, Carlos Franzetti has received numerous grants and prestigious awards, cementing his status as a true luminary in the world of music. Notable honors include the New Jersey Council on the Arts Composers' Fellowship in 2002, The Yamaha Composers Award, Clio Award, Prensario Award, ACE Award, and Premio Konex from Argentina. He's been recognized by The Foundation for New American Music, Meet the Composer, and has achieved gold record status.

Franzetti's compositions and arrangements have graced the stages of renowned orchestras, including the Boston Pops, the National Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony. His collaborations span the globe, from Buenos Aires to Prague, and his music has resonated with audiences worldwide.

But Franzetti's talents extend beyond the classical realm; he has also made indelible marks in the jazz world. His collaborations with jazz luminaries like Arturo Sandoval, Steve Kuhn, and Paquito D'Rivera have yielded remarkable recordings and unforgettable performances.

Film enthusiasts will recognize Carlos Franzetti's work in the scores of iconic movies such as "La Pelicula del Rey," "Q&A," "The Mambo Kings," and "Beat Street," where his compositions added depth and emotion to cinematic storytelling.

As 2023 unfolds, Carlos Franzetti continues to captivate audiences with new releases, including "Legacy" on Amapola Records and the exquisite "Minotaur in the Labyrinth," a 3-piano suite recorded by Allison Brewster Franzetti for Navona Records. His recent jazz trio album, "In the Wee Small Hours," and "Ricordare" have garnered international acclaim, showcasing his enduring passion for jazz.

"Buenos Aires Noir," another gem on Amapola Records, earned a Latin Grammy® Award nomination and was hailed as Classical CD of the Month on Jazz Station, affirming his ability to transcend musical boundaries.

Carlos Franzetti's discography is a testament to his boundless creativity, featuring an array of albums that traverse classical and jazz landscapes. Notable recordings include "Luminosa," "Argentum," "Franzetti Plays Franzetti" with Allison Brewster Franzetti, and "L'Histoire du Tango" with guitarist Berta Rojas.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1948, Carlos Franzetti's musical journey began at the age of six when he embarked on his studies at the National Conservatory. His passion for music led him to private piano lessons and composition studies, further shaping his prodigious talent.

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Album Review

Carlos Franzetti: Ricordare

Read "Ricordare" reviewed by Maurizio Zerbo


Il titolo del CD e il suo brano manifesto sono emblematici nell'esplicare il debito artistico di Carlos Franzetti per Ennio Morricone. Al di là dell'affinità con le colonne sonore italiane e francesi, il settantenne musicista argentino possiede ben altre e più rigogliose frecce al suo arco. Lo testimonia una poliedrica cifra espressiva, che spazia dal tango alla musica classica ed il jazz fino alla composizione per il cinema. Non è un caso se i momenti più ...

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Album Review

Carlos Franzetti: Recordare

Read "Recordare" reviewed by Peter J. Hoetjes


Often in order to move forward, we must first look back, seeking lessons in our failings as well as our successes. The English translation of Argentinian composer Carlos Franzetti's Recordare is “to remember." It would seem that during this trip to the studio, he has stuck his nose firmly in the past. With a career consisting mostly of successes, Franzetti's habit has always been to flavor his varied projects with his own personality and heritage. Though the pianist reserves a ...

Album Review

Carlos Franzetti: Argentum

Read "Argentum" reviewed by Neri Pollastri


Gran bel musicista l'ormai sessantanovenne argentino di Buenos Aires Carlos Franzetti, che nella sua lunga e fortunata carriera in larga parte spesa negli Stati Uniti ha svariato dal jazz alla musica da camera, da quella sinfonica a quella per il cinema, senza nulla perdere di quella tradizione che rende la musica sudamericana al tempo stesso universale e caratteristica. In questo apprezzabile lavoro lo troviamo alla guida di una formazione che passa dal trio al quintetto, su classici della ...

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Album Review

Carlos Franzetti / Allison Brewster Franzetti: Alborada

Read "Alborada" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Pianist Carlos Franzetti's versatility is one of his many virtues. Few artists could pull off a solo piano project like Mambo Tango (Sunnyside, 2009), and then turn right around and create such moving music for orchestra and piano. Fortunately, Franzetti has the talent, drive and discipline to match his ambitions and Alborada is the proof. Both Franzetti and his wife, Allison Brewster Franzetti, alternate between the podium and the piano bench throughout the album, and share a similar ...

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Album Review

Carlos Franzetti and Allison Brewster Franzetti: Alborada

Read "Alborada" reviewed by Greg Simmons


With Alborada, pianists Carlos Franzetti and Allison Brewster-Franzetti, along with the City of Prague Philharmonic, have attempted an ambitious fusion of jazz and classical music that ventures far beyond simple orchestral arrangements as aural wallpaper. Third Stream--the blending of genres to create a hybrid of sorts--has been around, with varying degrees of success, for about fifty years. It's always been controversial, sometimes challenging, and occasionally just plain bad. There are some folks who still curse Charlie Parker for ...

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Album Review

Carlos Franzetti: Mambo Tango

Read "Mambo Tango" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


If you are a virtuoso like Carlos Franzetti, there may be several ways to work a piano when performing a solo, or indeed performing solo on this grand instrument. But then again, if you are Carlos Franzetti you can use your God-given abilities to make the instrument come alive to the full range of its myriad melodic, harmonic and rhythmic possibilities. So now the piano is not just a lead voice but a voice with symphonic possibilities. It can replicate ...

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Recording

The Franzettis: Alborada

The Franzettis: Alborada

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

It's rare when classical and jazz merge perfectly. Most efforts tend to be ponderous and bombastic, particularly because most composers and arrangers forget that for such hybrids to win over American ears, the fusion needs to be an equal partnership with a dose of cinematic drama. Too often, jazz-classical efforts have been more classical than jazz, and quite often wind up taxing the patience of the American jazz listener. But there are glorious exceptions. One of these is the newly ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Recordare

Sunnyside Records
2019

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Ricordare

Sunnyside Records
2019

buy

Argentum

Sunnyside Records
2017

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Introducing Letizia...

Jando Music S.r.l.
2012

buy

Alborada

Amapola Records
2011

buy

Mambo Tango

Sunnyside Records
2009

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