Conad Jazz Contest story tells about the protagonists of the past editions of the Contest through a series of interviews with musicians who started their musical career thanks to their performance on the Conad stage at the Giardini Carducci in Perugia for Umbria Jazz.

 

In this first story, we interviewed VMV Trio, finalists of the 2024 edition of the Conad Jazz Contest.

The VMV Trio was born from the meeting of three young musicians from Puglia: Vincenzo Di Gioia (2003) on alto sax, Marco Cutillo (2001) on guitar and Vito Tenzone (1999) on drums. The trio focuses on research, through mostly original compositions, of personal and identifying sounds close to the world of contemporary jazz.

 

 

Let’s start from the Umbria Jazz stage: What emotions did you feel when you stepped on the stage of Umbria Jazz in front of the public and critics? What memories do you have today of those emotions?

 

Having had the opportunity to play and bring our music and our project to the stage of Umbria Jazz was a great emotion as well as a great honor.

Having experienced the festival first as spectators (in previous editions) and then as musicians was truly incredible.

What certainly makes everything worthwhile is the opportunity to share those days with many musician friends.

 

 

Did the band play again after that performance? Did the band members continue to play in that lineup or did you go your separate ways?

 

Absolutely yes, the VMV Trio is a stable group formed in 2023, which carries forward its own aesthetic, its own research and will surely continue to do so in the coming years. Furthermore, each of the three members is busy and involved in other projects .

 

 

You have received new opportunities following participation in the Contest and performances as finalists?

 

Last year we had the opportunity to participate in the final stages of numerous competitions, some of which we won, such as the “Teano Jazz Contest” and the “Tomorrow’s Jazz”, while in others we won the 2nd prize, such as the “Chicco Bettinardi” and the “Onyx Jazz Contest”.

We also had the opportunity to hold several concerts both in our region (Puglia): at the Duke Jazz Club (Bari), at the Teatro Abeliano (Bari), at the Teatro Van Westerhout (Mola di Bari), and in other regions such as Basilicata playing for the “Gezziamoci” festival organized by “Onyx Jazz Club” and in Campania playing for the “Teano Jazz Winter”.

 

 

How is your musical project going? Have you created new music together with the band you participated in the Contest with?

 

Our project, as previously mentioned, continues with the timbric/sound and compositional research.

We have managed to create and shape our sound and the sounds that distinguish us through a lot of work.

Our proposal is the result of a mix of musical influences that characterize each of the 3 of us (from contemporary jazz to film music, passing through rock music), thus resulting in a sound free from stylistic and genre boundaries.

Our trio’s basic objective is to convey emotions and give priority to the communicative aspect and power that music can have.

 

 

What are your future plans?

 

Absolutely yes, in April 2024 our EP “From Now On” was released by FDS Records and at the beginning of March we will enter the recording studio, to record the first album of this project!

We hope to be able to perform on your stage again in the future.

We sincerely thank all the staff of Umbria Jazz for their extreme professionalism and cordiality and for the interest shown in the new proposals.

Thank you with all our heart!