Biography

Francesco Grillo, who grew up in a family with deep-rooted musical traditions, is a classical pianist and composer who graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan and, later, from the Academies of Imola and Cremona. Francesco has tried his hand at composition since he was a child; his first models were the great romantics, Chopin, Liszt, and later also the great Russian authors, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Prokofiev and the French, Ravel first and foremost. The passion for Jazz and in particular for great pianists such as Bill Evans and Bud Powell, has allowed Francesco Grillo to create his own very personal compositional style which draws from both traditions (Classical and Jazz) and which shows a happy integration between apparently distant worlds. Francesco has performed in many European countries, the United States, Japan, Mexico and participated in the opening ceremony of the European figure skating championships in Milan (with live television throughout Europe) performing his preludes which subsequently became part of his first album of his own compositions. "HighBall", released in 2011, contains complex and highly lyrical music with original pieces for solo piano and three duets with pianist Stefano Bollani. In 2012 he released the album "Otto", a record of original jazz songs made with extraordinary musicians such as the trumpeter Enrico Rava, the clarinetist Nico Gori, the Israeli drummer Asaf Sirkis, the vibraphonist Andrea Dulbecco and the double bass player Yuri Goloubev. In 2013 "Frame" (Sony Classical) was released, an album of compositions for solo piano, published by Sony Music.