Roberto Ottaviano

Roberto Ottaviano is an Italian saxophonist.

He started extremely young as a self-taught percussion and flute player, but at the age of five he began to take clarinet classes at the Conservatory of Bari, Italy. Influenced by Lester Young and John Coltrane, he later chose the saxophone. After studying classical saxophone in Perugia with Federico Mondelci, between the end of the 1970s and the early 1980s he attended several workshops taught by Evan Parker and Jimmy Giuffre, undertook harmony and classical composition studies with Walter Boncompagni and attended courses held by Giacomo Manzoni and Luigi Nono. Thanks to a fortuitous encounter with Steve Lacy, he focused on the soprano saxophone. During a stay in the United States, he studied jazz composition and arrangements under Ran Blake, Bill Russo and George Russell.

Roberto Ottaviano has played in a local big band featuring guest musicians such as Buck Clayton, Ernie Wilkins, Benny Bailey and Sal Nistico. Later he was a member of Andrea Centazzo's orchestra, which featured guests such as Gianluigi Trovesi, Theo Jorgensmann, Franz Koglmann, Carlo Actis Dato, Radu Malfatti and Carlos Zingaro.

Roberto Ottaviano is also known outside of Italy through his participation in projects with Franz Koglmann, Georg Gräwe, Ran Blake and Tiziana Ghiglioni. In 1983, he released his first album (Aspects - Tactus Records), with Giancarlo Schiaffini, Paolo Fresu and Carlo Actis Dato. In 1986 he formed a quartet with Arrigo Cappelletti. In 1988 he founded the brass ensemble “Six Mobilies”, in 1988 he recorded a tribute to Charles Mingus (Mingus - Portraits in Six Colors). In 1990 he recorded the album Items from the Old Earth.

Roberto Ottaviano has released more than ten albums as a leader, especially on the Italian label Splasc(H) Records.

Since 1979 Ottaviano has collaborated with numerous jazz musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Art Farmer, Mal Waldron, Albert Mangelsdorff, Chet Baker, Enrico Rava, Barre Phillips, Keith Tippett, Steve Swallow, Irene Schweizer, Kenny Wheeler, Henry Texier, Paul Bley, Aldo Romano, Myra Sant'Agnello, Tony Oxley, Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink, Mario Schiano, Trilok Gurtu and Pierre Favre's “Canto Drums”. He has played in many American and European jazz festivals such as the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Donaueschingen Music Festival, the Berlin Jazz Festival and the Willisau Jazz Festival.

As a music teacher he has, among other things, taught at Woodstock, NY and the Conservatories of Mexico City, Vienna and Groningen, as well as in Urbino, Cagliari, Florence, Rome and Syracuse. Roberto Ottaviano is also the author of the book, “The Sax: Instrument, History, Techniques”, published in F. Muzzio Editore. Padua in 1989. He also teaches jazz music at the Niccolò Piccinni Conservatory in Bari . Show less