Biography

Professional Experiences

I developed my first musical experiences between 1985 and 1991 as bassist in my first rock band, the Molise-based HELIOS TRIBA, with whom I played a mixture of covers and original music performing in various Italian locations, reaching the finals at the Arezzo Wave Festival in 1989. The concert was broadcast by VideoMusic, Italy's first nationally syndicated music television station, and recorded live, and the song Dance On Fire was extracted from the live performance and released on the double vinyl album Arezzo Wave 1989 on the independent Italian label Hiara Records, my very first official record.

First steps - 1985/1992

From 1990 to 1998 I also worked as Radio DJ/Speaker at NOVARADIO 101.5 FM radio station in Florence leading Jazz, Black Music, Acid Jazz, Hip Hop, Trip Hop, Jungle and new music trends programs, and taking care of the direction and airing of radio news, interviews, special broadcasts, commercials, etc.

Between 1996 and 1998 I also held the position of music editor-in-chief, managing music rotations and relationships with record labels.

Radio Days - 1990/1998

Between 1993 and 1999 I followed a multi-stylistic path through an intense live activity and my first experiences in the recording studio, playing electric bass with numerous musicians and bands on the Tuscan scene, including ETNO (blending pop and world music with a Mediterranean matrix), OFP (a band who was very active in the Tuscan 90s funk/rock and acid jazz scene), CODICE ZERO (funk/soul/acid jazz band with a very young DOLCENERA - famous Italian pop singer - on lead vocals), trumpeter Franco Baggiani's URBANFUNK (jazz-funk inspired group on the footsteps of post 80s Miles Davis), VROOOM (pop/rock group of musicians/authors/producers), BLADE & MASQUENADA FAMILY (solo project by DJ BLADE from JESTOFUNK, between soulful house and world music) and JUNGLEHE@DZ (experimental trio with two excellent Italian musicians, keyboardist Leonardo Pieri and drummer Francesco Cherubini, blending electric jazz and new electronic trends such as jungle and trip hop, using traditional instruments and samplers).

Growing - 1993/1999

Pro musician since 1998, when I left all other activities to focus entirely on music, I also worked as music teacher in various schools on the Florence circuit, until reaching the position of holder of the courses of Electric Bass and Combo Music Lab at the Florence Music Academy (Accademia Musicale di Firenze) and the Music School of Scandicci (Florence) from 2003 to 2015, as well as giving private lessons, both in person and online, until 2022.
In addition to the Chapman Stick & Grand Stick (10 and 12-string), electric bass (4, 5 and 6-string, fretted and fretless) and synth bass, in the studio I also usually play keyboards, acoustic and electric guitar, percussion and programming.

I’ve been using various Apple Computers for my productions on a daily basis since 2000, working mainly in a macOs environment on the Logic Pro (Apple) DAW, and lately on other DAWs such as Pro Tools (Avid), Luna (UAD) and Live (Ableton), as well as various hardware and software from top brands in the sounds industry.

Since then I've been writing and producing music for various artists, including Articolo 31 (Italy), Boka Do Mundo (Brazil), Alessia Desogus (Italy/Spain), and Francesco Rainero (Italy), among others.

The Pro Years - From 1998 To The Present

I worked permanently with ARTICOLO 31 (the greatest Italian hip-hop/rock band during the 90s and 2Ks) as their official bassist, from 1999 until their disbandment in 2006, playing electric bass, synth bass and background vocals in all the tours of that period, with over two hundred and fifty concerts and appearances in Italy and abroad (Switzerland, Liechtenstein), participating in six videos, an album and a live dvd/cd, studio sessions and all major Italian television broadcasts, frequently hosting other important artists such as KURTIS BLOW, PAOLA TURCI, GEMELLI DIVERSI, FRANCESCA TOURÉ, and often on the same stage with some of the most important Italian and international artists, such as SANTANA, MOTORHEAD, LENNY KRAVITZ, SHAKIRA, BLACK EYED PEAS, AVRIL LAVIGNE, ZUCCHERO, VASCO ROSSI, MAX GAZZÉ, ELISA, DANIELE SILVESTRI, SUBSONICA, 99 POSSE, CARMEN CONSOLI, BIAGIO ANTONACCI, CESARE CREMONINI, GIANLUCA GRIGNANI and many more.

During the same period I started collaborations with some top Italian pop artists such as the famous singer-songwriter PAOLO VALLESI (both live and in the studio, from 2003 to 2011, frequently hosting artists such as ANDREA MINGARDI, WALTER SAVELLI, MARIELLA NAVA, VALERIA VAGLIO), the star singer IRENE GRANDI (live and in the studio, between 2007 and 2008, including the 2007 live performance, along with the VROOOM, on Second Life, a virtual platform that was very popular at the time, and the first event of its kind ever for an Italian artist) and the legendary singer-songwriter (formerly leaders of the Italian-based English band THE ROKES), producer and actor SHEL SHAPIRO (from 2011 to 2018, on electric bass and background vocals, on various tours in Italy and Slovenia, some major Italian television broadcasts, as well as a cameo, with him and the band, in MARCO RISI's 2013 movie CHA CHA CHA, and hosting in some gigs the Italian singer-songwriter and producer MAURIZIO VANDELLI, former leader of the Italian band EQUIPE 84).

Between March and April 2019, I’ve been a member of the trio for the JERRY MAROTTA (iconic U.S. musician, drummer for Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, Tears For Fears, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian, Hall & Oates, Cher, Elvis Costello, Stevie Nicks, Iggy Pop and many, many other artists) and FLAV MARTIN (U.S. guitarist/singer) European Club Tour, playing Chapman Stick and electric bass in clubs and theaters in various countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Italy).

From 2016 to 2022 I worked as producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist musician and co-music composer for the Italian Florence-based singer-songwriter FRANCESCO RAINERO, who on his debut album Mancino (2017) hosted the Italian top singer-songwriter GRAZIA DI MICHELE (on the track E’ volato via Luglio).

On the album Generazione (EP 2019) we hosted JERRY MAROTTA on drums on the track Mare che cammina (which won the critics’ award at the prize Premio Pierangelo Bertoli 2018), as well as on the 2021 single Credimi Francesco.

The single Generazione (2018) was awarded at Musicultura 2018 and won the prize Premio Lunezia 2018. 

For Rainero I also signed, produced, arranged, played (all instruments), recorded e mixed the theme songs for six editions of the italian national event La Notte Del Classico in 2017 (Nani e giganti), 2018 (Metamorfosi), 2019 (Ti porterò a Pompei), 2020 (L’ombra delle nuvole), 2021 (La DAD), 2022 (L’onda perfetta), as well as the song C’eravamo tanto armati (single edit 2020), whose video won the prize Premio della Giuria di VariEtà at the Festival Internazionale della Cinematografia Sociale Tulipani di Seta Nera in 2022.

In 2021 I participated with three of mine original compositions (playing Chapman Stick on two of them - the only stickist present - and electric bass on the last one) in the audio recordings included in the didactic book Drums&Bass (Ed. VOLONTÈ & CO.), by the Italian drummer BRUNO FARINELLI (who played with important Italian artists such as LUCIO DALLA, IL VOLO, ELISA, ANDREA MINGARDI, SHEL SHAPIRO), along with the best bass players on the Italian scene.

From 2007 to 2020, I participated in various theater productions, covering different professional roles depending on the type of show, including creator, executive producer, co-author of the texts, co-author of the music, music arranger, live musical ensemble conductor, multi-instrumentalist musician, artistic producer, sound designer and sound engineer. 

The list of shows includes the production of Il mare, l'amore, il cielo... e altre cose che non ho capito - Sulle onde di un Reality Rock (2007/2008), a music-theater performance with Lele Fontana, Giada Bruschi, Andrea Bruni, Francesco Cherubini, Paolo Clementi and Tiziana Ruoli, in collaboration with Florence On Stage, Compagnia ControVersoDanza, and MaxBalletAcademy, as well as various theater shows for children, performed by children aged 6 to 12. 

The children's show series includes the shows Higitus Figitus (2007) and Il castello dei tesori (2011), directed by Giada Bruschi, produced by the Accademia Musicale di Firenze (Music Academy of Florence) and the municipality of Florence, staged in the prestigious and historic theatre Teatro della Pergola in Florence, with live music played by a modern ensemble of students from the school, chosen and coordinated by me, and which I conducted live (Higitus Figitus), or which I conducted while simultaneously playing the Chapman Stick and electric bass (Il castello dei tesori, depending on the pieces), in addition to computer-controlled electronic programming.  

In the following years, the format of the shows was changed in favor of pre-recorded backing tracks, for which I composed the music for the songs (together with Francesco Rainero) as well as all the incidental music, which I produced, arranged, recorded (playing all the instruments) and mixed in my studio in Florence.

The list includes the shows S.O.S. - Tutti per uno, uno per tutti (2017, which also became an album - distributed on CD and streaming - with the songs sung by the youth choir Coro di Voci Bianche di Firenze), Pronti, sipario, via (2018/2019) and Alchimia: il segreto delle emozioni (2020), all written and directed by Giada Bruschi, in collaboration with the Accademia Musicale di Firenze (Music Academy of Florence) and staged in the theatre Teatro della Pergola in Florence.

In 2024, I started to team up with Granada-based Italian actress and singer ALESSIA DESOGUS, for whom I produced the single Brucia la terra, a modern version of Nino Rota's theme for Francis Ford Coppola's famous movie The Godfather - Part II (1974).

I arranged, recorded, mixed, and mastered this track entirely in my studio (Garden Studio Granada), playing all the instruments (piano, synthesizers, Chapman Stick, and fretless bass).

The theme is available on all major digital platforms for download and streaming.

DisCovering - Vol.1 (2014)

After many years spent playing music for others, in 2012, riding the wave of growing interest and use of the Chapman Stick, which was increasingly present in my studio and live performances, I began recording some tracks that would become part of my first solo work. That's how, in 2014, I released my first solo record, under the name MITCHA, titled DisCovering Vol. 1, with the independent label MUSIC VALLEY RECORDS (WARNER MUSIC distribution), an EP containing 7 classics of various genres played on Chapman Stick, with the Italian singers LELE FONTANA, MARILENA CATAPANO, SERENA NACCI and MATTEO URRO as guests on vocals.

From Sideman To Artist

Polimeri Effimeri - Suite per Chapman Stick e violino (2019)

In November 2015, I wrote all the tracks for my first album of unreleased material, a suite for Chapman Stick and violin composed entirely on the Stick, which I recorded live in my studio in Florence, without any overdubbing. In March 2016, The violin parts were recorded by JACOPO CIANI violinist with the Italian band THE GANG, who interpreted my scores magnificently, recording the eleven tracks that make up the suite in a single day, in the studio run by Daniele Bao (who was the sound engineer for this recording) in Florence . 

The suite is entitled Polimeri Effimeri - Suite for Chapman Stick and Violin, and is a concept album based on a short story I wrote at the time, a story that reflects the universal dynamics and themes of life, death, love, and friendship. 

The CD booklet includes the story transcribed in three languages, specifically Italian, Spanish, and English (the English version was adapted by Caroline Bennett).

The suite remained on hold until 2019, when I decided to release it only on CD in a limited edition (150 copies), practically all of which were sold during that year's European tour with JERRY MAROTTA. The album artwork is by Daniele Madio, the photos are by Luca Fivizzani, and the drawing in the booklet is by Italian artist Stefania Stelluto. I mixed this edition, while Tommy Bianchi did the mastering.

In March 2024 I participated (as artist, composer, arranger, producer, sound technician - mixing and mastering - and musician, playing Chapman Stick and Arturia Modular V3 soft synth) with my track Tempus Fugit (Synth Cafè Remix 2024), remix of a track taken from his album POLIMERI EFFIMERI, in the compilation DUETTO 002 by Synth Cafè, a popular Italian Facebook group with more than 36,000 members, and featuring many professional music producers from the Italian scene, which can only be found on the digital platform Bandcamp.

Tempus Fugit (Synth Café Remix 2024) - Duetto 002 (2024)