Luciano Troja "At Home With Zindars"

An intimate and creative solo piano journey into the world of Earl Zindars, who was a
San Francisco-based composer, percussionist and teacher, and who enjoyed a close friendship and long musical association with the legendary Bill Evans.

For Luciano’s Bay Area debut, he will be playing a selection of songs from his critically acclaimed album “At Home With Zindars” (2010), which is dedicated exclusively to the music of Earl Zindars.

Luciano Troja at the Maybeck

Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 3:00pm

This concert is $20 General Admission/$10 Students & Seniors   

Seating is limited.  Get your required online reservation here.

Luciano first visited San Francisco ten years ago, where he had the opportunity to meet with the family of the composer. This visit became the inspiration for the now widely-appreciated album, a project that grew out of an array of artistic collaborations that spanned three coasts: San Francisco, New York and Messina, Sicily.

Luciano’s project has been praised by critics and fans alike as being fundamental to fostering a deeper understanding of Zindars and his works. In 2011, the album received Stereophile magazine’s prestigious award naming it one of the “Records To Die For”.

This afternoon will indeed be a special program for the Maybeck Studio, as it will also feature a couple of Zindars gems that were not included in the album, and have never been recorded before.

A sensitive, creative and renowned jazz pianist, Luciano Troja was born in 1963 in Messina, the gateway to Sicily. Self-taught from the age of six, he later graduated from the Conservatory of Messina with distinction and highest marks earning a degree in Jazz Composition. He studied for several years with the pianist-composer Salvatore Bonafede, and, in New York for a brief time with Richie Beirach. He also attended jazz piano courses with Shirley Scott, James Williams and Franco D’Andrea.

Like the Strait of Messina, Luciano flows freely between traditional jazz and paths of a more adventurous and creative improvisational nature. His discography includes fifteen albums as leader or co-leader, and his works have received numerous awards including “Album of the Year” in magazines such as Cadence, All About Jazz, Musica Jazz, and Stereophile.

From 2002 to 2008 he was the pianist and composer for the Mahanada Quartet, a group known for its original combination of free improvisation and music writing, which toured extensively in Europe and the US. The group produced three enthusiastically received albums, and went on the represent Italy at the XI Athens Biennial of European Art.

For over fifteen years, Luciano has worked intensively with the Italian guitarist Giancarlo Mazzù, performing as a duo in Europe and the US. Together they have forged a unique path focusing on music from the Great American Songbook. Their recordings include “Seven Tales About Standards Vol.1 & Vol.2” (Splasch 2006, 2008), “Live at Metropolitan Room NYC” (Slam 2013), and the recent “Broad-ways”(ACK Records, 2017), which have garnered recognitions such as “Best Album of the Year” in El Intruso Jazz Magazine (Argentina), All About Jazz (Italy), and a Live Performance Album Nomination at the 2013 Independent Music Awards.

In 2010, Luciano released the acclaimed solo piano album, "At Home With Zindars". Among its many awards, the album received the distinction in 2011 as being one of Stereophile magazine’s “Records To Die For”.

Since 2011 Luciano has been working closely with NYC-based saxophonist Blaise Siwula in duo, in trio (with Mazzù), as well as in other combinations. To date, they have recorded four albums together, and continue to perform in many prestigious venues for creative music in NYC.

In 2016, Luciano released an album of original compositions titled "An Italian Tale" (Almendra, 2016) in duo with the classical bassonist Antonino Cicero.

Luciano is also the founder and music director of Pannonica Workshop, an innovative ensemble of Sicilian musicians from both jazz and classical backgrounds. Together, they join forces to create unlikely instrumental combinations, and focus on presenting works by contemporary American composers.

For the past five years, Luciano has also been the Artistic Director of Filarmonica Laudamo Messina, one of the most time-honored music associations in Italy.