Andrea Leone
Appears on:Andrea began playing the saxophone at the age of 10, starting with the alto saxophone, with which he graduated in classical saxophone with top marks at the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna in 2009. He later transitioned to the tenor saxophone, delving into the world of jazz and earning a jazz saxophone diploma with top marks at the G. Puccini Conservatory in La Spezia in 2013. In 2024, he obtained a master’s degree in jazz saxophone at the CODARTS Conservatory in Rotterdam.
He has had the privilege of attending numerous classical music masterclasses with internationally renowned saxophonists such as Fabrice Moretti, Philippe LeCoque, Eugene Rousseau, and Gilberto Monetti, as well as various masterclasses by jazz artists like George Garzone, Mark Turner, Rick Margitza, Enrico Rava, Aaron Goldberg, Greg Hutchinson, Reuben Rogers, Peter Bernstein, and
Ben Wendel. In 2013, he participated in the Siena Jazz Summer Workshops under the guidance of musicians such as Miguel Zenon, Pietro Tonolo, Maurizio Giammarco, Greg Osby, Ambrose Akinmusire, Stefano Battaglia, and Roberto Cecchetto.
In 2014, he co-founded the trio Freak Oil with musicians Matteo Patelli (guitar) and Lorenzo Capello (drums), performing original music written by Andrea and Matteo. In 2015, the trio was selected to participate in the finals of the Premio Maletto competition in Milan. In the summer of 2016, they recorded their first album, Used Shoes on a New Floor, with Danilo Gallo (Orange
Home Records).
Since 2014, Andrea has been part of the Hidden Improviser Collective (HIC) directed by Maestro Claudio Lugo, experimenting with diverse approaches to free improvisation. Thanks to the collective, in the fall of 2015, he co-founded the Improland Est association with local musicians, initiating the Improland series dedicated to improvised music. Held at the Altrove Theatre in Genoa, the series has hosted renowned artists like Cristiano Calcagnile, Danilo Gallo, Zeno De Rossi, Eugenio Sanna, Claudio Lugo, Piero Bittolo Bon, Gabriele Evangelista, and Ermanno Baron.
In 2016, he co-founded the Improland Orchestra with Francesco Aroni Vigone and Livio Macciò. The orchestra has performed at major festivals like the Genoa Jazz Festival, Gezmataz, and the Andersen Festival in Sestri Levante.
In 2017, he joined the band Marti for the promotion of their third album, King of the Minibar, performing in notable venues across Italy and Berlin.
In September 2017, he moved to Rotterdam to further study saxophone and improvised music at the Codarts University for the Arts under the guidance of musicians such as Tineke Postma, Simon Rigter, Ben van den Dungen, Stefan Lievestro, Tom Beek, Nils van Haften, and others. In Rotterdam, he performed with various bands in jazz clubs throughout the Netherlands and played
with the Codarts Big Band alongside artists like Reinier Baas and Peter Weniger at prominent jazz festivals like November Music (‘s-Hertogenbosch) and Dag van de Rotterdamse Jazz 2018. With the Codarts Big Band, he won second place at the Corendon International Big Band Competition’s Top Class in 2019.
In 2019, Andrea joined the SuperPostHardBop Quartet, founded by Massimiliano Dosoli (clarinet), alongside Jonathan Ho Chin Kiat (bass) and Andrea Carta (drums). The group is highly active on the Dutch scene and toured Sardinia in 2019, performing at the Cala Gonone Jazz Festival. That same year, as part of the sextet WE ARE 6, he won the prestigious Erasmus Jazz Prijs (Rotterdam), leading to performances at notable festivals such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz International Rotterdam, and Otis Park Festival.
In 2019, he co-founded the M.A.D. Mutual Assured Deconstruction collective with Filippo Deorsola, performing in July 2020 with renowned bass clarinetist Michel Pilz at the Cinemà Antico in Luxembourg. In 2021, they launched a project on Cornelius Cardew’s Treatise and recorded the composition with Michel Pilz in October.
In 2021, he recorded with the Aseo Friesacher Trio. The album, Muddy Water, was released in December 2021. That same year, he joined the Plankton Orchestra. Due to COVID restrictions, their December concert at De Doelen with Yamandu Costa turned into a video recording session, with videos published in early 2022.
In 2022, he joined Antares Flare as a saxophonist, co-composer, and co-arranger with band leader Piero Conte. The band reached the finals of the Erasmus Jazz Prijs and received enthusiastic feedback from Karel van Eerd. In the summer of 2022, Antares Flare toured Italy, performing at the Gezmataz jazz festival in Genoa. The same year, the band released their debut album with
Amsterdam-based label Wicked Wax.
In 2023, Antares Flare released two albums: Antares Flare Live EP and The Remixes. Andrea also recorded a new album with Antares Flare and, in December 2023, recorded the debut album with SuperPostHardBop at Wisseloord Studios.
In February 2024, Antares Flare released their fourth album, Another Problem Ahead. In the summer of 2024, they toured Italy, performing at events such as Umbria Jazz and Fano Jazz by the Sea. In July 2024, Andrea recorded the debut album of the LAC trio, set to be released in April 2025 by AUT Records.
He has performed at festivals and venues including North Sea Jazz (NL), Transition Festival (NL), Umbria Jazz (IT), Fano Jazz by the Sea (IT), Generation Festival (NL), Cala Gonone Jazz (IT), Gezmataz (ITA), La Spezia Jazz (ITA), Sound of Europe (NL), Make It Jazz (NL), Paradox (NL), BIRD (NL), LantarenVenster (NL), Rode Bioscoop (NL), De Doelen (NL), and many others.