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Federico Ughi

"Federico Ughi is characteristically splendid, his drums serving as much more than a rhythmic undercurrent..." Steven Loewy, Cadence Magazine

Federico Ughi is a drummer and composer based in New York.

Federico Ughi's music infuses the New York avant garde sound with a sense of melody inspired by the Italian classical and folk traditions of his childhood in Rome. Ornette Coleman has been a major influence for Federico as well as a mentor.

Born in Rome, Italy in 1972 Federico relocated to London at age 21 to play music, from there moving to New York in 2000 again to play music. He has been based in Brooklyn, NY ever since.

He has performed or recorded with Daniel Carter, William Parker, Eri Yamamoto, Darius Jones, The Cinematic Orchestra among others. Federico Ughi has perfomed throughout Italy, the UK, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Canada and the US.

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Album Review

Daniel Carter, Adriana Camacho, Federico Ughi: Trabajadores De Energi

Read "Trabajadores De Energi" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


An open conversationalist, active participant, and scion of creativity, forward thinking saxophonist Daniel Carter aims higher than his usual lofty visions on Trabajadores De Energi, easily the umpteenth release of '23 that bears his anachronistic brand. This free set, recorded in Rome after Carter, cosmic bassist Adriana Camacho, and longtime Carter partner in anarchy, drummer Federico Ughi met in Italy during the Sounds of Freedom international music residency, Trabajadores De Energi opens on a muted, near contemplative tone. ...

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Album Review

Daniel Carter: Telepathic Mysteries, Vol. 1

Read "Telepathic Mysteries, Vol. 1" reviewed by John Sharpe


The crew responsible for Telepathic Mysteries will be familiar to anyone who has encountered drummer and label boss Federico Ughi's 577 Records. First among equals is veteran multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, who serves as the focal point in a co-operative completed by Patrick Holmes on clarinet, Matthew Putman on keyboards and Hilliard Greene on bass. That same lineup was also behind Electric Telepathy (2019), Telepatia Liquida (2018) and Telepathic Alliances (2017), so it is to be expected that the album's five ...

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Album Review

The Telepathic Band: Telepathic Mysteries, Vol. 1

Read "Telepathic Mysteries, Vol. 1" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


For a quintet grounded in free association, The Telepathic Band sure as hell sound like a disembodied orchestra tuning up to go rogue. Wafting from absolute to adagio a piacere (as they say in Italian or, as we say in our less romantic and crasser Anglo tongue, as they please), the seemingly indefatigable saxophonist Daniel Carter heads his fellow downtown free music legends, clarinetist Patrick Holmes, keyboardist Matthew Putman, bassist Hilliard Greene and drummer Federico Ughi through five broadly defined ...

2
Album Review

Federico Ughi: Transoceanico

Read "Transoceanico" reviewed by Patrick Burnette


Dozens of jazz albums modeled on trumpeter Miles Davis's Miles Smiles (Columbia, 1966) or saxophonist John Coltrane's Crescent (Impulse!, 1964) get released each year, but a record reminiscent of Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity (ESP-Disc, 1964) is less common. Drummer Federico Ughi's Transoceanico nods vigorously in Ayler's direction, even as it marks Ughi's twentieth anniversary as a leader. As part of the celebration, Transoceanico features saxophonist Rachel Musson, who also appeared on Ughi's debut release. Bassist Adam Lane rounds out the ...

5
Album Review

Federico Ughi Quartet: Federico Ughi Quartet

Read "Federico Ughi Quartet" reviewed by Florence Wetzel


The Federico Ughi Quartet is part of the lineage that continues to emerge from saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Ughi's work embodies a range of disparate influences, including classical music and Italian folk tunes, but in the quartet's eponymous release Ughi pays homage to Coleman's spiritual, philosophical, and musical influence. The quartet even mirrors Coleman's archetypal two-horn-bass-drums lineup, in this case David Schnug on alto sax, Kirk Knuffke on cornet, Max Johnson on bass and, of course, Ughi on drums.

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Album Review

Federico Ughi: Songs For Four Cities

Read "Songs For Four Cities" reviewed by Florence Wetzel


Drummer Federico Ughi's Songs for Four Cities is a poetic meditation on inner and outer geography that's filled with deliciously lyrical tunes. Ughi lived in Italy until age 21, and then spent almost a decade in London before moving to his current home in New York City in 2000. The eight compositions on the CD explore these cities as well as Montreal, Canada, offering highly personal statements that form a sonic autobiography, a personal map of both disquiet and contentment ...

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Album Review

Federico Ughi: Songs For Four Cities

Read "Songs For Four Cities" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Drummer/composer Federico Ughi presents a collection of songs dedicated to four cities in which he has lived and that have made an impact on his music. His gentle and beautiful approach bridges European and American jazz, but mostly it filters the current New York scene through a silky translucent gauze.This album of music (explain to your kids that, at one time, artists recorded collections of music and not just singles) maintains a consistent dialogue between the players, the ...

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Recording

Navajo Sunrise The New Album By Daniel Carter, William Parker and Federico Ughi

Navajo Sunrise The New Album By Daniel Carter, William Parker and Federico Ughi

Source: Massimo Iudicone

Navajo Sunrise (RRJ1016 Rudi Records, 2013) by Daniel Carter, William Parker and Federico Ughi Daniel Carter: alto sax William Parker:, bass, shakuhachi Federico Ughi: drums Daniel Carter's relaxed phrasing moves naturally between Parker's earthly bass sound and Ughi's sensitive drumming. This trio's music seems to be possessed by a light and welcoming spirit. A constant flux of energy, a three way dialogue consumed within the time and space of one breath. Telling the story of the ...

"Federico Ughi is characteristically splendid, his drums serving as much more than a rhythmic undercurrent..." Cadence Magazine

"Ughi seems less concerned with the usual strategies of Free Jazz, although much of what he writes falls in that genre, than with the integration of improvisation and composition in a seamless unit that meshes melodic abstraction with sophisticated writing." All Music

All Music (USA) "it is clearly Ughi’s game, with the drummer nudging, cajoling, and pushing the limits"

Signal To Noise (USA) "Drummer Federico Ughi is a different kind of foil"

Jazz Journal International (UK) "... Ughi is a sensitive drummer...exploiting the full sonic possibilities"

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Photos

Music

Excerpt from Cosmic Canticles

From: For Those Who Cross The Seas
By Federico Ughi

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