One of the most precocious talents in the history of jazz.
He has performed with world famous musicians: Hank Jones, Dave Brubeck, Cedar Walton, Mulgrew Miller, Jonathan Batiste, Ronnie Matthews, Jimmy Cobb, Ben Riley, Ray Drummond, Reggie Johnson, Doug Sides Lewis Nash, James Williams, Joe Lovano, George Mraz, Joe Locke, Enrico Rava, Gianni Basso, Dado Moroni, Franco D’Andrea, Franco Cerri and many other Italian and American musicians.
Just few highlights of his career :
He won various important prizes: the International Jazz Festivals Organization Award in New York, the World Saxophone Competition in London, the Django d’Or in Rome and many others.
In 2004, he participated as a special guest in the Sanremo Music Festival.
In 2005 the Swing Journal, the authoritative Japanese jazz music magazine, confers him the New Stars Award, prize reserved to the emergent foreign talents.
On January 19, 2009 he played in Washington DC during the celebrations in honor of President Barak Obama and Martin Luther King Jr.
On July 17, 2009 the Umbria Jazz Foundation named Francesco “Ambassador of the Italian jazz music in the world.”
In 2012, he arranged “Don’t Stop” the background music for the current commercial for the ENI station.
In June 2013, at the behest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Consul General of Philadelphia, in collaboration with the American Secretary of State John Kerry, Francesco was chosen to represent Italy to play during the celebrations for the Year of Italian Culture in the United States.
On 2014 February 20, Francesco, received in New York the “Grand Award of Merit” by the “American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit”, on behalf of the many contributions of Sicilian jazz musicians in the jazz music development and diffusion throughout the world.
