BIO

Biography

Francesco Crosara is a Seattle based Italian jazz pianist, composer and educator performing in a variety of formations. Crosara’s original music melds an impressive mix of jazz improvisation, a romantic vein from his classical Conservatory training in Rome, bouncy lyrical expression along with strong Latin influences. His main jazz piano influences are Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and Herbie Hancock.

Crosara stands among the European-bred jazz greats, performing over the years with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Hargrove, Richie Cole, Bobby Shew, Ira Sullivan, Don Menza, Von Freeman, John Heard, Gabe Baltazar, Mayuto Correa, Bruce Forman, Barbara Morrison, Earl Palmer, Lilian Terry, and more. His recordings have featured a multicultural and international array of musicians. He has performed at festivals and venues across the USA, Japan, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, and Italy.

Since 2017, the Pacific Northwest can claim Crosara’s talents, too. He was featured on National Public Radio performing at the 2024 KNKX 88.5 FM Studio Session series. Crosara’s trio was selected to perform at the 2021 Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, and his creations were featured in the trend-setting series Earshot Jazz: The Second Century (2019 and 2020) for their bold and innovative music composition and video editing work. Equally adept with acoustic and electric jazz concepts, Crosara routinely headlines trios and quartets with the area top musicians.

Crosara’s latest CD project, “Circular Motion”, released in 2024 by Origin/OA2 Records, features all original material including fresh interpretations of some of his earlier repertoire, which was composed over a period of 40 years. Crosara has produced 6 additional international jazz albums over the last three decades ranging from straight-ahead to fusion and Latin, and featuring guest artist, Chicago tenor sax legend Von Freeman, plus Lilian Terry, Dave Marr, Rusty Jones, Paulinho Garcia, Dean Taba, Noel Okimoto, Yasushi Gonjo, Larry Marshall, Miles Jackson, Eric Kurtz, and more. Crosara’s 2000 album “Colors” received 4 stars from Down Beat magazine.

Crosara also serves on the Board of Directors of the Music Discovery Center (MDC), a non-profit organization based in Bremerton, WA, dedicated to creating an inclusive space for community members to experience, explore, and contribute to the world of music through education, performance, and mentorship.

Recent Highlights

New CD Release “CIRCULAR MOTION” (2024): from a lifetime of music creation, Crosara selected 10 of his compositions from the last 40 years with the idea of highlighting the nexus between early work, with its simplicity and youthful appeal, to later works where he expressed richer harmonic textures and possibilities.

In August 2024, Crosara was featured on Seattle’s National Public Radio (NPR) for a videotaped performance as part of the KNKX 88.5FM Studio Sessions series featuring his quartet and music from the “Circular Motion” album. The performance was followed with an interview on the air.

Crosara and his wife Julia, an abstract painter, were featured in the April 2022 edition of Earshot Jazz Magazine for their online series collaboration entitled Art Music.  

Crosara’s April 2022 piano duet collaboration with fellow pianist Bill Anschell was featured on Jim Wilke’s Jazz Northwest show on KNKX 88.5FM (an NPR affiliate).

Crosara’s quartet was selected to perform at the 2024 Lake Chelan Wine and Jazz Festival. The acoustic trio was selected to perform at Seattle’s 2021 Earshot Jazz Festival.

Crosara’s work was featured in 2019 and 2020 in the trend-setting Earshot Jazz: The Second Century series for his bold and innovative music composition and video work. 

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crosara participated in international virtual events, such as the 2021 Livestream from the Royal Room (USA)  the 2020 Kansai Music Conference (Japan) and the 2020 Morelia Jazztival (Mexico).

Music Education & Influences

Born in Milan and raised in Rome, Italy, Crosara was exposed to jazz and classical music at an early age. His mother, Lilian Terry, one of Europe’s foremost jazz singers for four decades, was also a TV producer, radio broadcaster, and educator. Terry organized concerts/master classes in Italy and conducted interviews for RAI with some of the most respected figures in American jazz, who also became close friends. Some of them were highly influential on Crosara’s artistic development through the years, especially Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Chick Corea, Eumir Deodato, and Dizzy Gillespie. In the early eighties, Terry recorded two album projects, with Dizzy Gillespie, and with Tommy Flanagan, respectively, and co-founded the Dizzy Gillespie Popular School of Music in Bassano, Italy.  Lilian Terry’s memoirs, “Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray, and Friends“, (2017-University of Illinois Press) received a highly positive review from DownBeat magazine and others.

Early challenges and a decision point – Coming from a musical family and being raised in Italy, in his teens Crosara received his classical music training at the prestigious Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Rome. After three years of studies, while he excelled at composition (with his harmony teacher encouraging him to continue writing music), Crosara failed the piano exam, with his respective teacher declaring that he simply did not have the talent to ever become a classical pianist because he was too busy “improvising”. Coming to a decision point, Crosara switched his interest to jazz music and transferred to the Conservatory of Frosinone in the outskirts of Rome to specialize in Jazz Harmony, Composition and Improvisation under the guidance of maestro Gerardo Iacoucci.

In 1981 he attended USC in Los Angeles where he became a permanent member of the USC jazz big band through his college years.  Main music influences were family friends Dizzy Gillespie and Chick Corea.

Piano style influences: Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Joe Zawinul.

Other jazz influences: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Weather Report, Return To Forever, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny.

Business Education / Professional Career

Alongside his music engagements, Crosara pursued a decades long career in Information Technology focusing on consulting services for business applications at large international enterprises. His business qualifications include a B.S. in Business Administration at USC in Los Angeles (1984) and a M.B.A. at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu (1994).

Crosara is now retired from the corporate workforce, and focusing full time on the composition, production and performance of the music he loves.

Discography

Video, Radio & Film

Music Videos – Series of Jazz videos and livestreams during COVID-19 pandemic. “PRELUDIO FLAMENCO” was selected at the 2020 Earshot Jazz Festival as part of the “Earshot Jazz: The Second Century” series.

Radio – Featured in 2-part broadcast of jazz piano duo concert recording with Bill Anschell on Seattle’s KNKX 88.5FM National Public Radio (April & May 2022).

Corporate Media – Series of corporate shorts for SAP (2013) and original music score for short feature “My Life at SAP” (2014).

TV – Live jazz performances in trio and quartet format broadcast in Hawaii (1993 & 1994).

Film – Original music score for “The Teeny Tinies” a 3-D animation film pilot (1993).

Advertising – Commercial Jingles for Hawaiian Host Chocolate radio spots (1994).

Fine Arts – Music score, companion DVD for art book: “Sergio Zen – La Pittura Come Pratica Esistenziale, Carte Dipinte 1957-2007” (2008).

Workshops & Teaching

Washington State, 2022 – Serving on the Board of Directors of the Music Discovery Center (MDC), a non-profit organization based in Bremerton, WA, dedicated to creating an inclusive space for community members to experience, explore, and contribute to the world of music through education, performance, and mentorship.

Morelia, Mexico 2005 & 2006 – Conducted master classes in improvisation at the Universidad Michoacana San Nicholas De Hidalgo and at the Conservatory of Music Las Rosas.

Hawaii 1992-1996 – With the University of Hawaii Statewide Cultural Extension Program, Francesco performed to enthusiastic audiences around the rainbow state bringing jazz education to schools, correctional institutions, libraries and public parks.

Indiana 1997-1998 – served as Instructor of Piano Improvisational Technique in the Applied Music Program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Origin Arts Records Artist Page

Social Media Links

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Contact

For information and bookings send an email to: 
info@francescojazz.com