Conad Jazz Contest Story: an interview with Five Angry Men
Second appointment with Conad Jazz Contest story, meeting the musicians of past editions of the Contest: it’s the time of Five Angry Men, the winning quintet of the 2022 edition, with Mauro Patti on drums, Matteo Bonti on double bass, Pierpaolo Zenni on piano, Lorenzo Simoni on alto sax and Giacomo Serino on trumpet.
Two years have gone since your victory at the Conad Jazz Contest. How has your professional musical path evolved?
First of all, we are grateful for the experiences we had thanks to the Contest. We had the opportunity to perform in truly incredible places and events, creating indelible memories that will add to our personal wealth of experiences.
Following the concerts held thanks to the tour reserved for the winners, as Five Angry Men we wanted to take a break to leave space for each of us to dedicate ourselves to our own projects in the pipeline. However, we often continue to involve some members of the band in our personal projects.
Is the band still there or have you formed other bands? We already knew you were playing in various other groups during that tour
Yes, the band is still there and as before each member of the lineup continues to collaborate with various musical realities and projects of different nature, carrying out an intense concert activity which, very often, causes our paths to cross.
There are also some relevant news related to the individual members of the Five Angry Men:
Last November Mauro Patti published the debut album of Telamon, his Afro-jazz and ethno-jazz music group, on the Dodicilune label. The album, called “Telamon”, containing original compositions and arrangements by Patti, was recorded with a lineup of 11 elements (in which 4 of the 5 Angry Men were present), while the “reduced” lineup of Telamon is composed of: Francesca Bongiovanni on vocals, Guglielmo Pagnozzi on soprano sax, Giovanni Benvenuti on tenor sax, Pierpaolo Zenni on piano, Matteo Bonti on double bass and Mauro Patti on drums.
Lorenzo Simoni has put together his own quartet of original music, the “Lorenzo Simoni 4tet”, composed of: Lorenzo Simoni on alto sax, Guglielmo Santimone on piano, Giulio Scianatico on double bass, Simone Brilli on drums. Simoni, with this formation, is currently playing in jazz clubs in Italy.
Giacomo Serino put his “Sexetto Incorretto” on him, with a repertoire of original music composed by him, ranging from jazz with clear references to classical music, with an ironic and grotesque veil. The sextet in question is composed of: Giacomo Serino on trumpet, Iacopo Teolis on trumpet, Lorenzo Simoni on alto sax, Federico Pascucci on tenor sax, clarinet and zurna, Federico D’Angelo on baritone sax, tuba and bass clarinet and Riccardo Gambatesa on drums.
How much do you think your participation in the Contest contributed to developing your career?
It certainly had its weight. Performing in locations such as Blue Note or Umbria Jazz has made us acquire a lot of credibility and led us to make important new contacts for our careers.
What are your plans for the future? Are you still living in various places of Italy?
Yes, we still based in different places of Italy, now more than ever. While before, it was Siena Jazz that kept us together, now, having all finished, or almost, our studies at Siena’s renowned Jazz academy, we no longer have a “home base” like Siena was. However, this has not stopped us from seeing each other and staying in touch and make plans together.
In fact, as Five Angry Men we are playing at two beautiful concerts in Sicily scheduled for April 2nd at the Palacongressi in Agrigento and for April 3rd at the Tatum Art Jazz Club in Palermo. This could also be a new beginning for the Five Angry Men.
Is there anything else you want to add?
We wanted to thank once again Conad and Umbria Jazz for the opportunity they gave us and we hope to see you very soon!
And we thank you for sharing your news and we can’t wait to see you all playing together in your spring stages!