Joseph Circelli
Appears on:Guitarist and composer, he focused on improvisation and composition, with particular attention to contemporary languages, jazz and improvised music including all its shades. He has performed in France, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, at the Italian Cultural Institutes of Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Vienna, as well as in numerous Italian and foreign Festivals, Jazz Clubs and Theaters such as: Umbria Jazz, J.A.M., Valsugana Jazz Festival, Valjevo Jazz Festival, Porgy & Bess (Vienna), B Flat (Berlin), A-Trane (Berlin), ZWE (Vienna), Il Torrione Ferrara Jazz Club, Milestone Piacenza Jazz Club, Bergamo Jazz Club, Barga Jazz Club, Le Scimmie, Rovigo Jazz Club, Jazz it Fest, Musica Futura, Venezze Jazz Festival (with Maurizio Giammarco), Delta Blues (with Gegè Telesforo and Charlie Wood), Fara Music Jazz Live, Teatro Duse (Bologna), Teatro Carcano (Milan), Teatro Storchi (Modena) and others.
He is founder and co-leader of various jazz and contemporary music projects, designed to propose original music, such as: Circles 44 (with Achille Succi on bass clarinet, Massimiliano Amatruda on piano and Andrea Grillini on drums), Marbles (duo with Edoardo Marraffa on tenor and sopranino sax), In a maze (solo performance), Joseph Circelli Vinkel Trio (with Simone Di Benedetto on double bass and Riccardo La Foresta on drums), Omit Five (with Mattia Dalla Pozza on alto sax, Filippo Vignato on trombone, Rosa Brunello on double bass and Simone Sferruzza on drums), Off Lines (with Federico Pierantoni on trombone, Christian Pepe on double bass and Simone Sferruzza on drums), Ensemble Harmonique and others.
With the Omit Five he wins the 1st prize of the “Barga Jazz Contest 2011” and of the “National Award of the Arts 2011 – Jazz Section” (organized by the MIUR) and the 2nd prize of the “Chicco Bettinardi Jazz Contest 2012” and of the “Porsche Live, Giovani e Jazz 2012”.
With the same band he has two record publications: “Omit Five” (Caligola Records, 2012) and “Speak Random” (Slam Productions, UK 2013).
With the Off Lines quartet he is among the winners of the “Conad Jazz Contest 2013” and participated in the final stages of the “Chicco Bettinardi Jazz Contest 2013”, publishing the CDs: “Rasoterra” (Notami Jazz, 2013) and “Contest Chicco Bettinardi – X Edizione Collection” (Level 49, 2013). With the Joseph Circelli Vinkel Trio is among the winners of the “Conad Jazz Contest 2014” and has participated in the “National Conservatory Festival” ranking in 4th place, receiving wide and positive acclaim from critics and the public.
In 2019 he released “In a maze”, a guitar solo album for the Solitunes Records label, in the same year he won the prize for the best live performance at the “Lucania Original Soundtrack Contest”. With Circles 44 he won the “Band Together 2021” award and released the albums “Cratere” (2020) and “In the grip” (2024) published by Aut Records. He also worked as a guitarist and co-arranger for the Ensemble Harmonique orchestra and was mentioned by the specialized magazine “Musica Jazz” in the best new talent ranking.
In 2009 and 2012 respectively he graduated 1st and 2nd level degree in “Jazz and improvised music” with honors from the Conservatories of Ferrara and Rovigo.
He studied with Sandro Gibellini, Antonio Cavicchi, Daniele Santimone, Roberto Spadoni, Ares Tavolazzi, Riccardo Chiarion, Marco Tamburini, Stefano Onorati, Marcello Tonolo, Stefano Bellon, Alberto Ambroselli. He attended masterclasses on improvisation held by Franco D’Andrea, John Abercrombie, Jaspar Blom, Domenico Caliri, Edoardo Righini, Rachel Gould, Maarten Van Der Grinten.