Let’s get to know the band members and how the group came together to achieve their goal in their third participation in the Contest.

 

Giulio Mari, born in 1998, is an Italian trumpeter, composer, and arranger active in the contemporary jazz scene. He graduated with honors from the “P. Mascagni” Conservatory in Livorno.

During his training, he participated in numerous internationally renowned masterclasses and artistic residencies, including European Jazz’s Cool (2022), with performances at the Casa del Jazz in Rome and the Penderecki Academy in Krakow, as well as workshops with artists such as Jay Jennings (Snarky Puppy), Paolo Fresu, Giovanni Falzone, Hector Martignon, and Stefano Cocco Cantini.

His concert career has seen him perform in a variety of ensembles: he is co-founder of the jazz sextet Saìhs, which offers a repertoire of original pieces and has won prestigious awards, including the Conad Jazz Contest 2025 organized by Umbria Jazz, the Chicco Bettinardi Prize in 2023, the Perugia Alberto Alberti Prize, and the Eddie Lang Jazz Contest Prize. He plays regularly with the Magicaboola Brass Band, with which he participates in major European jazz festivals and has performed with numerous artists from the jazz scene and beyond, including Veronica Swift, Benny Benack III, David Linx, Steven Feifke, Javier Girotto, Simone Cristicchi, Davide Shorty, and Emma Nolde.

His recordings include Distopia by Saìhs, released by Gleam Records (2025), Multicolor Dance (2022), and Canzoni in Chiave di Brass (2023) by the Magicaboola Brass Band.

 

Edoardo Battaglia is a drummer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist born in Florence, active from a young age both in concert and as a recording studio session musician. His musical versatility and ability to span diverse genres have led him to collaborate with numerous artists and perform at prestigious national and international festivals.

In addition to Saihs, his artistic collaborations include: LNDFK, Bassolino, Zeintheclouds, Alessandro Lanzoni, Max Ionata, Lazy Lazarus, PLMS, Luca Zennaro, Michelangelo Scandroglio, Paolo Fresu, Uri Caine, Guglielmo Santimone, Andrea Rodini, and Giuseppe Vitale. He has participated in numerous festivals (both national and international), including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Locus Festival, Umbria Jazz, Viva Festival, Down the Rabbit Hole Festival, Dour Festival, Porto Rubino, Gaeta Jazz Festival, and MENT Festival, and has played in various Italian clubs, including Torrione di Ferrara, Casa del Jazz, Blue Note, Covo Club, Cantina Bentivoglio, and Pinocchio Jazz Club.

He began studying drums seriously with the Banda Michelangiolo Paoli of Campi Bisenzio at the age of 11, and then continued at 14 with Claudio Sbrolli. At the age of 17, he temporarily interrupted his studies at the Dante Music High School in Florence to begin a three-year program at the Siena Jazz National Academy.

 

Giulio Barsotti is a double bass player whose interests range from classical music to jazz and pop. He began playing at the age of 6, studying piano with his father, Maestro Massimo Barsotti, and began playing drums during his adolescence. At 17, he discovered the double bass, the instrument that is now at the center of his artistic journey.

He is currently training at the Fiesole School of Music, where he studies with maestros such as Alberto Bocini and Marco Martelli. In recent years, he has had the opportunity to perform in Italy’s most important theaters and participate in European tours, with stops in cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and many others.

In the classical field, he has collaborated with numerous symphony orchestras, sharing the stage with soloists and conductors such as Alexander Lonquich, Silvia Chiesa, Christoph Hartmann, Freddy Kempf, Afanasy Chupin, Pietro Veneri, and many others.

He currently serves as principal double bass with the Italian Youth Orchestra, an experience that has led him to participate in a busy schedule of productions at the country’s major festivals and theaters.

In the jazz field, he has collaborated with various ensembles, performing with artists such as Steven Feifke, Benny Bennack III, and Veronica Swift. In 2022, he was selected for the National Jazz Orchestra of the Italian Conservatories, conducted by Pino Jodice, and is currently the first eligible member of the ONJGT, conducted by Paolo Damiani, a project that has allowed him to work with key musicians such as Enrico Rava, Danilo Rea, and Giovanni Falzone.

With the Saihs sextet, he won the Chicco Bettinardi Prize, the 2024 Perugia Prize, and the 12th edition of the “Il Genio di Eddie Lang” competition, as well as being selected among the finalists of national events such as the New Jazz Festival Contest and the Festival dei Conservatori di Frosinone.

At the same time, he has also gained significant experience in the pop scene, participating in Giovanni Allevi’s “Hope Tour” in major Italian theaters and the “Ron Summer Tour,” the official tour of Rosalino Cellamare (Ron), further enriching his musical vision.

 

Lorenzo Fiorentini: born in the province of Florence in 1997, he began studying music as a teenager. He began studying piano and composition early on, first at the Florence Conservatory and then at the Fiesole School of Music, where he expanded his studies to include conducting, jazz, and musicology.

In 2020, he earned a bachelor’s degree in piano from the University of Florence and in 2025, he completed his master’s degree at Siena Jazz. Alongside his studies, he has participated in several performance and composition competitions: highlights include third place at the “2 Agosto” Competition in 2017, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Prize at the “Michele Novaro” Competition, and the great satisfaction of winning the 2025 Umbria Jazz Conad Jazz Contest with the group Saihs, with whom he also received the “Alberto Alberti” Prize in Perugia and first prize at the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival and the national “Chicco Bettinardi” competition.

Over the years, he has had the opportunity to collaborate as a pianist and composer with important institutions such as the Orchestra Regionale della Toscana, the Florentine Chamber Orchestra conducted by Maestro Giuseppe Lanzetta, the Florence Conservatory, and the Fiesole School of Music, as well as with the Florence Opera.

Since 2018, he has been pursuing educational and musical dissemination projects, both live and online, and continues to perform regularly in classical, jazz, and pop contexts. Since 2019, he has taught at various schools and associations, including courses in Orchestration Techniques at the Fiesole School of Music.

One experience he is particularly proud of is his time with the National Jazz Orchestra of the Conservatories, where he has been principal pianist since 2021. Since 2023, he has also collaborated with the theater company La maschera di Dioniso, and since 2025, he has performed in the show “Mi fa male il mondo” with Neri Marcorè, which toured Italian theaters.

 

Matteo Zecchi is a saxophonist whose interests span classical, jazz, and pop music. He began playing thanks to his maternal grandfather, who encouraged him to attend courses organized by the music school of the Oreste Carlini band in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, which has produced several musicians who are now established professionals. He honed his musical skills first during the three-year program at the Siena Jazz Academy and then during the two-year program at the L. Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, graduating with honors in both. In recent years, he has had the opportunity to perform around the world, from Barcelona to Tunis, to Dubai, Luxor, and Tirana.

His artistic career has included international competitions and awards, such as the 2023 Chicco Bettinardi Prize, the 2024 Perugia Prize, and first place in the Italian Conservatories’ National Jazz Orchestra competition. He performed with them at the Dubai Expo and at the Parco della Musica in Rome, under the direction of maestros such as Paolo Silvestri and Pino Jodice, and with artists such as Paolo Fresu and Dave Douglas.

He plays regularly with Funk Off (Umbria Jazz 2022, 2023, and 2024) and since 2023 has been touring with Giulio Tullio (trombonist) with Elio in the show “Quando Un Musicista Ride,” which has led him to perform in major Italian theaters and in January 2025, live on La7 at Propaganda Live.

 

Giulio Tullio, born in 1997, graduated in 2015 with honors in trombone from the “Cesare Pollini” Conservatory in Padua under the guidance of Maestro Vincenzo Montemitro. In October 2018, he obtained a second-level academic diploma in trombone from the “Agostino Steffani” Conservatory in Castelfranco Veneto under Maestro Sergio Bernetti. He furthered his classical studies with masterclasses and lessons with Maestros Andrea Conti, Giuseppe Mendola, Massimo La Rosa, Mark Fisher, and Franco Cesarini. He has won several awards as a soloist in various national competitions (Treviso National Competition and Piove di Sacco National Competition) and as a member of the trombone ensemble “Slide 42 Trombone Ensemble” (Palmanova City Award, Belluno National Music Competition, Giussano National Competition), with which he also performs concerts. Also in the classical field, he has collaborated with the Orchestra dei Solisti Veneti, the ORV (Veneto Regional Philharmonic Orchestra), the Nova Symphonia Patavia, the “Senza Spine” Orchestra, and the “Marco Polo” Orchestra. He has recorded two albums with the Padua Conservatory Orchestra: “Two Countries, One Heart” and Mahler’s First Symphony. In 2017, together with the company “Made in Orchestra,” he produced several instructional videos dedicated to the trombone. In 2018 and 2019, he was a member of the “SanremoYoung Orchestra,” with which he performed for 10 episodes live on RA1 in both editions of the television program “SanremoYoung,” accompanying artists such as Simon Le Bon, Europe, Ted Neeley, Gino Paoli, Mahmood, Massimo Ranieri, Marco Masini, Riccardo Cocciante, Tony Renis, and many others. Since 2017, he has collaborated with the Orchestra Ritmico Sinfonica Italiana, with which he currently performs concerts and also performs on live music television programs such as Festival Show and Opera on Ice. In May 2021, he was selected by the St. Louis College of Music to record the album “Amore Carcere e Invettiva” under the direction of Maestro Vincenzo Presta. In September 2021, he was selected by the St. Louis College of Music to participate in the “EJS – European Jazz’s Cool” project, joining the sextet “Universal Language” led by Rosario Giuliani, with which he performed at the Casa del Jazz in Rome, Helsinki, and Krakow. Since 2018, he has been co-leader of the group “Carovana Tabù,” with which he has recorded two albums: “Point of View” in 2020, in collaboration with Fabrizio Bosso, Eric Marienthal, and Davide Pezzin; and “Miles To Go” in 2021, in collaboration with Fabrizio Bosso, with whom he has performed on several occasions, most recently in May 2022 with a week-long tour to present the Miles Davis album. With “Carovana Tabù,” he opened Cory Wong’s concerts in April 2022 at the Gran Teatro Geox in Padua and the Gran Teatro Morato in Brescia. In May 2022, he began his collaboration with Fabio Concato with “Carovana Tabù,” debuting at the Teatro Accademico in Castelfranco Veneto. Since June 2021, he has been touring Italian theaters as a member of the band for the show dedicated to Enzo Jannacci, “Ci Vuole Orecchio,” with Stefano “Elio” Belisari, Alberto Tafuri, Sophia Tomelleri, Martino Malacrida, and Pietro Martinelli, directed by Giorgio Gallione and with musical arrangements by Paolo Silvestri. In October 2024, he earned a master’s degree with honors in jazz trombone from the Rovigo Conservatory under the guidance of Maestro Massimo Morganti. At the same time, he continued his studies with Hal Crook, Marshall Gilkes, Steve Turre, and Elliot Mason. Since 2024, he has been part of Elio’s show, “Quando Un Musicista Ride,” with Alberto Tafuri, Matteo Zecchi, Pietro Martinelli, and Martino Malacrida. In 2023 and 2024, he was part of Marco Paolini’s show “Boomers,” with Patrizia Laquidara, Stefano Dalla Porta, and Luca Chiari. He has performed with various jazz groups and ensembles, including the one with which he won the 8th edition of the Marco Tamburini Award at the Teatro Sociale in Rovigo in 2024, ONJGT (National Jazz Orchestra of Young Talents conducted by Paolo Damiani), ONJ (National Jazz Orchestra of the Conservatory), Umbria Jazz Orchestra, Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra, “ItaJazzClub Orchestra,” and “Daisy’s Big Band,” with which he plays for artists such as Steven Feifke, Camille Bertault, Benny Benack III, Julien Alour, and Veronica Swift. With the group “Saihs,” he won the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival competition, the 2024 “Chicco Bettinardi” Award, the “Alberto Alberti” Award, and the 2025 Conad Jazz Contest.

 

SAIHS Biography

 

The idea of forming a sextet arose from Giulio Tullio and Giulio Barsotti in April 2023. In May of the same year, the “Saihs” (meaning “six” in Gothic dialect), composed of Edoardo Battaglia on drums, Giulio Barsotti on double bass, Lorenzo Fiorentini on piano, Giulio Mari on trumpet, Giulio Tullio on trombone, and Matteo Zecchi on tenor saxophone, met in the classrooms of the Campi Bisenzio music school (Florence), directed by Massimo Barsotti, to record their first three original pieces to be submitted to the Conad Jazz Contest.

The “school” and the city of Campi immediately acquired a very important role in the group’s musical (sessions, recordings, and rehearsals) and non-musical experiences. After unsuccessfully participating in the 2023 Conad Jazz Contest and the Festival dei Conservatori, the “Saihs” won the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival competition in July 2023, with a jury chaired by Frank Gambale. In February 2024, they won the “Chicco Bettinardi” Jazz Band Award at the Milestone Festival in Piacenza (judge chaired by Tino Tracanna).

Thanks in part to the support of these awards, in June 2024 the “Saihs” recorded their first unreleased songs at “Toto Sound” in Rome. After participating in the final stages of the Conad Jazz Contest 2024, Fara, and Barga Jazz 2024 competitions, the “Saihs” continued their musical journey, opening for Richard Galliano on November 16 of the same year at the Carlo Monni Theater in Campi Bisenzio. In January 2025, Saihs won the first edition of the Perugia Prize dedicated to Alberto Alberti, which awarded them the production and promotion of their first album, “Distopia. After performing at the Piacenza Jazz Club “Milestone” and at ExFila in Florence, as part of the festival organised by Gianni Pini’s Music Pool, in July 2025, Saihs won the Conad Jazz Contest.

The fruit of the group’s two-year labour, gathered in Perugia, will return to the Campi Bisenzio music school, with the production of the group’s second album. We would like to thank Massimo Barsotti for his kindness and availability for hosting them and for continuing to host them in the spaces of the “school,” without which this project would not have easily seen the light.