Rocco Zifarelli

Biography

Rocco Zifarelli is a versatile guitar player who has collaborated with many Italian and International artists of many different styles - from jazz to rock, big band and orchestral. Rocco has made hundreds of recordings with musicians like Paul Mc Candless, Tony Scott, Bob Mintzer,Gege' Telesforo, Massimo Urbani, Paco Sery, Matthew Garrison, Paolo Belli,Giorgia,Ivano Fossati,Renato Zero,Cristiano De Andrè, Dulce Pontes,Teresa Salgueiro, Angelo Branduardi, Linley Marthe,Pippo Matino, Lester Bowie...

Rocco Zifarelli is a versatile guitar player who has collaborated with many Italian and International artists of many different styles - from jazz to rock, big band and orchestral. Rocco has made hundreds of recordings with musicians like Paul Mc Candless, Tony Scott, Bob Mintzer,Gege' Telesforo, Massimo Urbani, Paco Sery, Matthew Garrison, Paolo Belli,Giorgia,Ivano Fossati,Renato Zero,Cristiano De Andrè, Dulce Pontes,Teresa Salgueiro, Angelo Branduardi, Linley Marthe,Pippo Matino, Lester Bowie and Allan Holdsworth keyboardist, Steve Hunt (with whom he toured Italy and the US in 1999).
Rocco performs regularly and tours internationally with the renowned film music composer and director Ennio Morricone (Oscar multi-nominee and winner and Golden Globe winner for “The Legend of Novecento”) and the RAI Television Orchestra in many important TV music shows as "Festival di Sanremo" and with other important directors and composers as Gianni Ferrio and Nicola Piovani (Oscar winner for "Life is beautiful" and Cannes winner for “La Stanza Del Figlio”).
Rocco also plays custom electric-oud, mandolin, and fretless guitar and has received rave reviews from guitarists such as Scott Henderson, Pat Metheny, Steve Khan, Dominic Miller and many others.
Rocco’s first release, "LYNDON" (produced by Via Veneto Jazz and distributed in Italy by Universal) is the resul of his many years of musical growth and experience.
This recording features the musicians Rocco has worked with for many years, as well as brass, strings, and some very special guests. The album is a lavish production which reveals Zifarelli as an incredible composer, arranger and band leader.
In fact Rocco’s interpretation and arrangement of the Jaco Pastorius composition “Havona” (from LYNDON) has been included on a CD tribute to the great fusion band Weather Report "Mysterious Voyages – A Tribute To Weather Report", produced by the German label ESC, includind world class artists as Tribal Tech, Marcus Miller, Jim Beards and many others.
With his band was invited to perform at the United Nation in New York for the 2005 annual International Symposium and the same period Rocco joined the American repertory ensemble, "THE MAHAVISHNU PROJECT" in their on going interpretations of the seminal fusion music of John McLaughlin & The Mahavishnu Orchestra touring East USA and Europe.
He's currently at work on several new CD’s, both as a leader and co-leader with artists such Chander Sardjoe, Francis Lassus, Linley Marthe, Paco Sery, Alex Sipiagin, Dario Deidda , Giovanni Imparato, and a Live DVD in trio with Linley Marthe and Chander Sardjoe.
He currently teaches at the State Music Conservatory of Bari and from the summer 2009 will be performing with the Joe Bowie's Defunkt. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.