
MARCO FRATTINI QUARTET (USA, Netherlands, Italy, Austria)
Ratko Zjaca, quitar
Renato Chicco, hammond organ and keyboards
Stefano Bedetti, tenor saxophone
New collaboration between four outstanding artist form a peerless combination of drums /organ / guitar and saxophone .The result is stunning in terms of sound and arrangement experimented with rhythmic ideas, texture and space impressed by artists enthusiasm, passion, intensity and warmth. An inspiring, enjoyable, powerhouse original compositions and standards.
Marco Frattini started playing drums at early age and began performing professionally in his teens. Marco has become one of the most sought after drummers in the european jazz scene. He has followed master classes in Europe (with Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, Benny Golson among others) and overseas at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory in Boston (with Bob Moses, Terri Lyne Carrington, Skip Hadden, John Ramsay, Jon Hazilla).
His activity as a performer and session musician has brought him to collaborate with numerous artists across different styles and genres like George Garzone, Howard Levy, Randy Bernsen, Karen Asatrian, Tom Kirkpatrick, Gianmaria Testa, Darryl Hall, M+A, The Mixtapers, Flavio Boltro, Marco Sabiu and many others. He has contributed to over 30 studio recordings and to several music, theatre and television productions.
He has performed in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Italy and participated to many festivals such as Glastonbury Festival, Babel Med, Norwich Sound & Vision, Roskilde Festival, Teriaki Festival, To be jazz Festival, Eurosonic Festival, Simple Thing Festival, MTV Days, RDV de l’Erdre Jazz Festival, Fano Jazz, Reeperbahn Festival, Nitra Jazz Festival, Bologna Jazz Festival, Premio Fabrizio De Andrè, Bassano Opera Festival, Crossroads, B.I.A., Premio Tenco, Folkest, Tango Y Mas.
Pianist and organist Renato Chicco studied at the University of Music in Graz, Austria, and at Berklee College of Music in Boston. While living in New York City (1990 -1998) he was a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra (1991-1992) and pianist and musical director with Jon Hendricks & Company (1991-1997). Being active on the New York scene during that time, aside from playing in clubs like the Blue Note, Birdland and the Village Gate, he took part of radio and TV shows (with Lionel Hampton and Jon Hendricks), performed in festivals and clubs all over the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. Renato also performed with Lou Donaldson, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Red Holloway, Al Grey, Joe Williams, Wynton Marsalis, Gary Burton, Milt Hinton, Reggie Workman, Jerry Bergonzi, Steve Grossman, Al Foster and many others. Among his recordings as a leader (on piano) Renato recorded two CDs of his jazz arrangements of Slovenian folk songs and recently one CD as a leader and three as a co-leader on organ. As a sideman he has appeared on over 50 recordings. Renato is currently professor for jazz improvisation at the Music University in Graz and continues to perform all over the world.
Ratko Zjaca is an innovative musician, who is widely recognized as a technically advanced guitarist. He is known for being a relentless individualist, which is evidenced in his improvisational style. Ratko has had a prolific and extensive session history as a recording guitarist having played on many released recordings. Ratko is a highly versatile player covering many areas of music but is best known for his work in the modern jazz and improvisation idiom. Ratko has released a number of albums as leader and has performed and recorded with many leading world American and European musicians.
Ratko is considered a very gifted stylist, assumes many roles in his macrocosm of music: contemporary guitarist, composer, performer etc. Born in Croatia, Ratko in his early days was attracted by the sound of the guitar, both subversive sounds like those produced by Jimi Hendrix and from the classics like Bach and van Beethoven. He studied and graduated from Zagreb University. In his drive for the necessary knowledge and the enormous need for studies he sought his refuge in The Netherlands at the Rotterdam Conservatory, famous for its studies of modern music. There he could get teachings by well-known masters. He also followed masterclasses and personal courses with Joe Pass, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, Mick Goodrick, Mike Stern, Bob Brookmayer, John Abercrombie and others.
Unlike some of his colleagues Ratko is not focusing only on saxophone phraseologies, but is continuously expanding the guitar’s vocabulary within today’s world of music. Whilst improving his performance to create his typical own sound and style, Ratko as a gifted teacher with a loaded teaching schedule, is capable of transposing most advanced phrases and concepts into structures, suitable for every musician. He gives master classes all around the world for guitar and fretless guitar, in countries like Slovenia, the Netherlands, France, Croatia and the United States.
After completing his study at the Rotterdam Conservatory, he also studied at New York University School of Music. He started to work with own group and with American trumpet veteran Benny Bailey. Ratko participated at many international festivals and has been booked for the major club dates at the European and American scene. Ratko has constantly made major efforts to enrich his experience with appearances and recordings. He was also performing and recording with Benny Bailey, Randy Brecker, Gary Peacock, Reggie Workman, John Pattituci, Al Foster, Steve Gadd, Miroslav Vitous, Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Jeff Tain Watts, Alvin Queen, Adam Nussbaum, Shawnn Monteiro etc.
In April 2000 Ratko recorded “A Day in Manhattan” in New York with the jazz stars Reggie Workman and Al Foster.
Ratko is currently composing music and working on a new world music project on which he plays baritone, sitar, fretless, soprano, electric and acoustic guitars – this will be the second part of his previous record Shades of Spirit, Fretless Guitar Project.
Ratko released a quartet recording, Crossing The Border, in New York City with John Patitucci, Al Foster and Stan Mitrovic, with all original compisitions of all members of the quartet.
Ratko released a record, Continental Talk, with John Patitucci, Steve Gadd, Randy Brecker and Stan Mitrovic.
Ratko just released a new record on In+Out Records, The Way We Talk, with Simone Zanchini, Adam Nussbaum and Martin Gjakonovski.
Ratko’s new recording Now and Then is out with Simone Zanchini, Miroslav Vitous, John Patitucci, Reggie Workman, Steve Gadd, Randy Brecker and others on In + Out Records.He recorded a new album with the ZZ Quartet 2013 Beyond the lines (Zjaca, Zanchini, Nussbaum, Gjakonovski). Ratko just record new album in NYC is out january 2016 with Simone Zanchini,Stefano Bedetti ,John Patitucci and Adam Nussbaum.
Stefano Bedetti (New York City) is one of the most acclaimed and charismatic jazz artists to have emerged in the last decade Stefano Bedetti began to play tenor saxophone at the age of 14. He discovered jazz music, whn listening to records of Charlie Parker. Other influences include John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Cannonball Adderley,Hank Mobley, Sonny Stitt etc. Giulio Capiozzo (famous italian drummer, cofounder of well-known group Area) was the first to notice his talent and invite Stefano in his group.
Starting from 1995 Stefano played with famous european group Jestofunk, toured with them all round the world for ten years and took part in numerous jazz festivals. Stefano played on three remarkable disks of the group. In 2004 Stefano joined Marco Tamburini Quintet featuring Billy Hart on drums and Cameron Brown on bass. Stefano formed his own quartet in 2005 and released his first disk as a leader in 2007: The Bright Side of the Moon. Stefano has proved himself not only as a world class player but also as a gifted composer. The record enjoyed rave reviews from critics, Italian Jazz Awards voted it the best jazz disk of the year. Over the course of his career he has performed with lots of well-known musicians including Billy Hart, Ed Howard, Victor Lewis, George Cables and many others.
Starting from 2009 Stefano performs with his trio featuring Bill Hart / Victor Lewis and Ed Howard.
The band infuses instrumentation with a progressive attitude and modern sound, creating music that is rhythmically and technically complex and at the same time harmonically rich, melodically satisfying, and emotionally compelling.
2015 finds Bedetti entering an exciting new creative phase, with his varied talents showcased on a variety of notable new recording projects.