JAZZPROFILES lives in the music 2,059 Jazz Artists fully Profiled! Alfonso Santimone
Last updated October 21, 2026
Listen on SpotifyNo portrait on file yet. Drop portrait.jpg and a media.md caption/license into this profile's folder.
Alfonso Santimone was born in Ferrara, Italy, on 23 June 1973, and has worked since the early 1990s as a pianist, keyboardist, composer, improviser, arranger and producer. Through the 1990s he was a stable member of drummer Giulio Capiozzo's quintet, playing and recording across Italy and Europe alongside Harold Land, George Cables, Jimmy Owens, Tony Scott and Bruce Forman.
His discography, verified through the Discogs API (86 credits under his own artist entry, plus further credits carried under his groups' own listings), runs from a 2001 appearance on the Ferrara literary-music project F.RR.R. - Sguardi Consonanti (Endas Ferrara) to a 2025 session with the Mauro Negri Quartet. Its most internationally visible single credit is piano and keyboards on "Hasta Siempre Comandante," a Carlos Puebla cover on Robert Wyatt's Comicopera (2007, Domino) - confirmed at the track level in Discogs' own release data.
As a leader and co-leader, his catalog runs from the free-improvised electronic duo Klan.G (with bassist Alessandro Fedrigo, Resonance Surfers, 2009, nBn Records) to Ecce Combo (2010, El Gallo Rojo), credited to Alfonso Santimone Laser Pigs, a quintet with saxophonist Piero Bittolo Bon, bassist Danilo Gallo and drummer Zeno De Rossi, and more recent work: 4 Days (2022, Kopaton Records), a four-day live-composition-and-painting collaboration in Zagreb with brothers Alen and Nenad Sinkauz, and Live In Lugano (2024, The Flying Robert Music) with trumpeter Andrea Ayassot. He co-founded the Italian musicians' collective and record label El Gallo Rojo, whose roster runs through much of his sideman work as well - Zeno De Rossi Shtik (Me'or 'Einayim, 2007; The Manne I Love!, 2010), Falsopiano, Standhard3io, and the free-improvising quartet behind The Crypt: Act I / The Bisiakistan Renegades (2011, Punto Rojo) with Piero Bittolo Bon, pianist Giorgio Pacorig and bassist Danilo Gallo.
He is also a regular member of two other Italian bandleaders' working groups, both confirmed at the Discogs personnel-credit level: drummer Roberto Gatto's perfecTrio, on electric piano and live electronics on Starship for Lovers (2014, Parco della Musica Records) alongside bassist Pierpaolo Ranieri; and trombonist Gianluca Petrella's Cosmic Band, on Fender Rhodes, Korg MS-10 synthesizer and laptop electronics across both of the band's studio albums, Coming Tomorrow - Part One (2009) and Part Two (2012, both Spacebone Records). He also co-wrote "Lynch," one track on La Giostra (2025, Hora Records), the album the instrumental trio Guano Padano - guitarist Alessandro Stefana, bassist Danilo Gallo and drummer Zeno De Rossi - recorded together with trumpeter Enrico Rava.
More recently, he has recorded with reedist Enzo Favata's Glocal Report (Live In Hong Kong, 2020) and, as pianist and co-arranger, on Favata's Os Caminhos De Garibaldi (2024, Caligola), a session that also carries trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini, trumpeter Flavio Davanzo and bassist Danilo Gallo.
Alongside his own playing, Santimone has worked as a producer: he produced singer Patrizia Laquidara's Il Canto dell'Anguana (Hotel Rif), winner of the Targa Tenco 2011 for best album in an Italian dialect, and mixed her later C'è Qui Qualcosa Che Ti Riguarda. He has won the JazzIT Awards magazine referendum for best Italian jazz keyboardist four years running, and the 2011 Trofeo InSound in the keyboards/electronics category. Some of his electronic reworkings of Arnold Schoenberg's music are archived, at the Arnold Schoenberg Center (Vienna)'s own request, in the Center's audio collection.
He teaches jazz piano and ensemble playing at the Siena Jazz University (Accademia Nazionale del Jazz) since 2016, composition and arranging for pop/rock at the Conservatorio "L. Marenzio" in Brescia since 2019, and jazz piano at the Conservatorio "L. Campiani" in Mantova since 2022.
Santimone's catalog runs two practices that regularly cross. One is acoustic jazz and free improvisation - Zeno De Rossi Shtik, The Crypt, Falsopiano, and his work with Enzo Favata and Piero Bittolo Bon - built on piano and small-ensemble interplay and tagged "Free Improvisation" in Discogs' own genre data for Ecce Combo. The other is an electronic-improvisation practice built around vintage analog gear - the Korg MS-10 synthesizer heard on the Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band records, and the laptop/live-electronics rig at the center of Klan.G and the 4 Days project - that connects him to Italy's acid jazz and nu jazz scenes; he appears on several Irma Records compilations built around exactly those tags, It's a Groovy Thing! The Amazing Jazz Funk Organ Sound and Acid Jazz & Funky Grooves. Across both practices, his own management copy describes him as "protean" and "adventurous," a pianist whose touch carries "a dark and visionary taste" even as he moves between free jazz, groove-based soul-jazz, and studio-built electronic composition.
- "Hasta Siempre Comandante," on Comicopera (Robert Wyatt, 2007, Domino) - Santimone credited piano and keyboards at the track level on Discogs; one of the most widely heard records to carry his playing. Spotify Listen
- Coming Tomorrow - Part Two (Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band, 2012, Spacebone Records) - Santimone on Fender Rhodes, Korg MS-10 and laptop electronics. Spotify Listen · Buy
- Starship for Lovers (perfecTrio, 2014, Parco della Musica Records) - with Roberto Gatto (drums) and Pierpaolo Ranieri (bass). Spotify Listen · Buy
- Ecce Combo (Alfonso Santimone Laser Pigs, 2010, El Gallo Rojo) - his own quintet, with Piero Bittolo Bon, Danilo Gallo and Zeno De Rossi. Bandcamp Listen · Buy
Alfonso Santimone: Full Discography
Compiled via the Discogs API (artist 1266984, "Alfonso Santimone," profile text "Italian pianist and keyboardist" - single unambiguous entity, no other person shares this Discogs ID). 86 total credits under his own artist ID as of build time (9 Main, 65 Appearance, 6 TrackAppearance, 5 Mixed By, 1 UnofficialRelease/duplicate), plus further Main credits carried under his own named groups' separate Discogs entities (Alfonso Santimone Laser Pigs, Zeno De Rossi Shtik, perfecTrio, Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band).
Spotify: web search plus the keyless open.spotify.com/oembed endpoint were used to confirm artist and album pages. Where a specific release could not be confirmed this way, the cell reads "not found" rather than guessing.
Buy: Cells give a plain Discogs release link where available.
As Leader / Co-Leader
| Album | Year | Label | Personnel | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F.RR.R. - Sguardi Consonanti | 2001 | Endas Ferrara | Davide Bregola, Giuseppe Calo, Sergio Fortini, Roberto Guerra, Filippo Landini, Roberto Manuzzi, Stefano Marcolini, Monica Pavani, Alfonso Santimone (piano, keyboards, electronics) | A Ferrara-based literary/spoken-word and music project; his earliest Discogs-documented credit. | not found | Discogs |
| Resonance Surfers | 2009 | nBn Records | Alfonso Santimone (analog synth [Korg MS-10], laptop), Alessandro Fedrigo (bass guitar, effects) | Credited as Klan.G; free-improvised electronic duo, reviewed on All About Jazz. | not found | Discogs |
| Ecce Combo | 2010 | El Gallo Rojo | Piero Bittolo Bon (alto sax, bass clarinet, baritone sax, flute), Danilo Gallo (double bass), Zeno De Rossi (drums), Daniele Santimone (guitar), Alfonso Santimone (piano, mixed by), Francesco Bigoni (tenor sax, clarinet) | Credited to Alfonso Santimone Laser Pigs; recorded July 2008, released 2010. Discogs genre/style tags: Jazz, Free Improvisation. Daniele Santimone (guitar) is a different, unrelated musician who also appears on this same session. | Bandcamp | Discogs |
| The Crypt: Act I / The Bisiakistan Renegades | 2011 | Punto Rojo | Piero Bittolo Bon, Giorgio Pacorig, Alfonso Santimone (electronics, noises), Danilo Gallo | Free-improvising quartet. | not found | Discogs |
| Starship For Lovers | 2014 | Parco Della Musica Records | Roberto Gatto (drums, percussion, live electronics), Pierpaolo Ranieri (electric bass, FX), Alfonso Santimone (electric piano [Fender Rhodes], piano, live electronics) | Credited to perfecTrio. Twelve tracks: mostly originals plus three standards (Mancini, Barroso, Monk). | Spotify | Discogs |
| Hymnus Ad Nocturnum | 2014 | Parco Della Musica Records | Gabriele Mitelli (trumpet), Alfonso Santimone (piano), Giulio Corini, Nelide Bandello | Credited to "Gabriele Mitelli With Alfonso Santimone." | not found | Discogs |
| Live In Hong Kong | 2020 | Not On Label (Enzo Favata self-released) | Enzo Favata, Alfonso Santimone (piano, keyboards), Danilo Gallo, U.T. Gandhi | Credited to Glocal Report; digital live album. | not found | Discogs |
| 4 Days | 2022 | Kopaton Records | Alen Sinkauz (bass, moog mother 32, FX), Nenad Sinkauz (guitar, voice, dead zither, FX), Alfonso Santimone (laptop, live electronics, "dead guitar," objects) | Four multimedia improvisation-and-painting performances (May 2021, Kranjcar Gallery, Zagreb) with visual artist Danijel Zezelj; limited LP (200 copies), Kaustron Records/Croatia. | not found | Discogs |
| Live In Lugano | 2024 | The Flying Robert Music | Andrea Ayassot, Alfonso Santimone, Giulio Corini, Nelide Bandello | Most recent leader-adjacent release confirmed. | not found | Discogs |
Appearance / sideman and production credits
| Year | Title | Artist / Billing | Label | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Nostra Patria Il Mondo Intero | Maurizio Camardi | Il Manifesto | | not found | Discogs |
| 2001 | Solo Con Te | Scilla Bei | Carosello | | not found | Discogs |
| 2004 | Singin' In The Brain | Silvia Donati & Standhard3io | Abeat Records | | not found | Discogs |
| 2005 | Pop Gossip | Osmiza | Jazz Engine | | not found | Discogs |
| 2005 | Grazie Dei Fiori? | Elena Camerin | Caligola | | not found | Discogs |
| 2006 | Urban Vox | DMA | Blue Serge | | not found | Discogs |
| 2006 | Impronte | Maurizio Camardi | Caligola | | not found | Discogs |
| 2007 | Featuring Marc Ribot + A Turtle Soup | Giovanni Maier Technicolor | Long Song Records | Guitarist Marc Ribot guests on this session. | not found | Discogs |
| 2007 | Me'or 'Einayim | Zeno De Rossi Shtik | El Gallo Rojo | | not found | Discogs |
| 2007 | Comicopera | Robert Wyatt | Domino | Santimone credited "Piano, Keyboards" on the track "Hasta Siempre Comandante" (Carlos Puebla cover), verified at track level via Discogs. | Spotify (album) | Discogs |
| 2008 | Cocktail Saturno | Standhard3io & Silvia Donati | El Gallo Rojo | | not found | Discogs |
| 2009 | Dear Violence | East Rodeo | Trovarobato / Kapa Records | | not found | Discogs |
| 2009 | Coming Tomorrow - Part One | Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band | Spacebone Records | Personnel confirmed at Discogs credit level: Santimone on Fender Rhodes, Korg MS-10, laptop/no-input-mixer electronics, effects, alongside Gianluca Petrella (trombone, arranger, producer), Beppe Scardino (baritone saxophone), Giovanni Guidi (piano), Mirko Rubegni (trumpet). The Scardino credit was absent from this row until independently re-verified during the Beppe Scardino build (2026-09-16). | not found | Discogs |
| 2010 | The Manne I Love! (Vol.1 & Vol.2) | Zeno De Rossi Shtik | El Gallo Rojo | | not found | Discogs |
| 2011 | 8888 | Falsopiano | El Gallo Rojo | | not found | Discogs |
| 2012 | Coming Tomorrow - Part Two | Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band | Spacebone Records | Same personnel as Part One, including Beppe Scardino (baritone saxophone). | Spotify | Discogs |
| 2014 | Camera Lirica | Domenico Caliri | Caligola | With Beppe Scardino, confirmed at the Discogs release-credit level. Caliri already profiled on JazzProfiles.com. | not found | Discogs |
| 2014 | Porti di Mare | Marco Castelli | Caligola | | not found | Discogs |
| 2014 | Kepos | Zeno De Rossi Trio | (self-released) | | not found | Discogs |
| 2015 | Hunger And Love (Billie Holiday 1915-2015) | Various | Dodicilune | Compilation tribute. | not found | Discogs |
| 2016 | Big Hell On Air | Piero Bittolo Bon's Bread & Fox | AUAND | | not found | Discogs |
| 2017-2018 | It's A Groovy Thing! The Amazing Jazz Funk Organ/Guitar Sound, Vol.1/Vol.2 | Various | Irma CasaDiPrimordine | Acid jazz/funk compilation series, track-level appearances. | not found | Discogs |
| 2018 | C'è Qui Qualcosa Che Ti Riguarda | Patrizia Laquidara | (self-released) | Santimone also mixed this album. | not found | Discogs |
| 2019 | This Is Sour Music | PBB's Bread & Fox | (self-released) | Santimone also mixed this album; personnel confirmed at Discogs credit level to also include Andrea Grillini (drums). | not found | Discogs |
| 2019 | Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra | TJCO | Overstudio Recording | 25-piece big band, co-directed by Santimone and Piero Bittolo Bon; personnel confirmed at Discogs credit level to also include Andrea Grillini (drums). | not found | Discogs |
| 2020 | The Tower Tapes #1-#10 (Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Broken Shadows, Craig Taborn & Dave King, The Bad Plus, Human Feel, Jorge Rossy Vibes Quintet, Bill Carrothers, Aaron Parks Trio, Ethan Iverson & Mark Turner) | Various | Jazz Club Ferrara | Production credit only, confirmed at release level: Santimone is credited "Mastered By" on this live-recording series, not as a performer. | not found | not found |
| 2021-2022 | Play The Music Of Bill Frisell, Vol.1 / Vol.2 | Unscientific Italians | Hora Records | Santimone also mixed this release. | not found | Discogs |
| 2022 | Inner Core | Gaia Mattiuzzi | Aut Records | | not found | Discogs |
| 2022-2023 | Acid Jazz & Funky Grooves 2 / 3 | Various | Irma | Compilation series, track-level appearances. | not found | Discogs |
| 2024 | Os Caminhos De Garibaldi | Enzo Favata | Caligola | Santimone credited piano and (with Favata) all arrangements; also features Giancarlo Schiaffini (trombone), Flavio Davanzo (trumpet), Danilo Gallo (double bass), U.T. Gandhi (drums). | not found | Discogs |
| 2025 | All Right session | Mauro Negri Quartet | All Right Riserva Recordz | Santimone credited grand piano. | not found | Discogs |
| 2025 | La Giostra | Guano Padano Plays With Enrico Rava | Hora Records | Santimone co-wrote the track "Lynch" (shared writing credit with the trio's own members); not a performing credit on this album. See Enrico Rava's own discography for the full session personnel. | YouTube (teaser) | Discogs |
| 2026 | Cantigas | Nilza Costa | Brutture Moderne | Most recent confirmed credit. | not found | Discogs |
Production credits (not discography appearances)
- Patrizia Laquidara, Il Canto dell'Anguana (Hotel Rif) - produced by Santimone; winner of the Targa Tenco 2011 for best album in an Italian dialect (sung in Vicentine dialect). Not found under his own Discogs artist ID; sourced from press coverage and his own CV.
Full catalog (86 Discogs entries under his own artist ID, as of build time) at Discogs: Alfonso Santimone.
U.T. Gandhi (drums) - fellow member of Enzo Favata's Glocal Report on Live In Hong Kong (2020). Discogs-confirmed.
Roberto Gatto (drums) - bandleader of perfecTrio; Santimone plays electric piano and live electronics on the trio's Starship for Lovers (2014).
Gianluca Petrella (trombone) - bandleader of the Cosmic Band; Santimone plays Fender Rhodes, Korg MS-10 and electronics on both of the band's studio albums (2009, 2012).
Beppe Scardino (baritone saxophone) - fellow Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band member on both studio albums (2009, 2012); also credited together on Domenico Caliri's Camera Lirica (2014, Caligola). Already profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Enrico Rava (trumpet) - Santimone co-wrote "Lynch," one track on La Giostra (2025), the album Rava recorded with the trio Guano Padano.
Piero Bittolo Bon (alto and baritone saxophone, clarinets) - fellow El Gallo Rojo Records co-founder; bandmate on Ecce Combo (2010), The Crypt: Act I (2011), and pianist in Bittolo Bon's own quintet Bread & Fox on Big Hell On Air (2016) and This Is Sour Music (2019); the two also co-direct the Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra together. Discogs-confirmed.
Danilo Gallo and Zeno De Rossi - the rest of the recurring core of his El Gallo Rojo-era work, together on Ecce Combo (2010), The Crypt (2011) and elsewhere.
Enzo Favata (reeds) - Glocal Report's Live In Hong Kong (2020) and Os Caminhos De Garibaldi (2024), on which Santimone also co-arranged.
Robert Wyatt - piano and keyboards on "Hasta Siempre Comandante," Comicopera (2007).
Andrea Grillini (drums) - bandmate on Piero Bittolo Bon's Bread & Fox live album This Is Sour Music (2019, which Santimone also mixed) and co-section-mate in the Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra (2019), which Santimone co-directed alongside Bittolo Bon.
Named in his own official biography as a collaborator in concert and on record, without an independently verified specific Discogs credit: Marc Ribot, Greg Cohen, Ben Goldberg, Chris Speed, Cuong Vu, Steven Bernstein, Bobby Previte, David Murray, Seamus Blake, Trilok Gurtu, David Binney, Jim Black, Mulatu Astatke, Markus Stockhausen, David Krakauer, Ares Tavolazzi, Claudio Fasoli and Francesco Bearzatti. Of these, David Murray and Mulatu Astatke are already profiled on this site (JazzProfiles.com); Ares Tavolazzi, Claudio Fasoli and Francesco Bearzatti are profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Enrico Morello (drums) - drummer on Gaia Mattiuzzi's Inner Core (2022, Aut Records), on which Santimone is a featured guest on electronics and programming; Discogs-confirmed. Profiled separately on this site.
Enrico Terragnoli (guitar) - both credited on Pop Gossip (2005), Me'or 'Einayim (2007), The Manne I Love! (2010, for which Santimone is music director), the compilation El Dias de Los Muertos (2013) and Patrizia Laquidara's C'è Qui Qualcosa Che Ti Riguarda (2018); Terragnoli also mixed Santimone's Ecce Combo.
Federico Pierantoni (trombone) - fellow member of the Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra (2019), which Santimone co-directed, and trombonist on the two volumes of the Unscientific Italians' Bill Frisell music (Hora Records, 2021 and 2022), which Santimone arranged and conducted; Discogs-verified. Duet partner on "Enel luce e gas" on Pierantoni's own 6 X 2, Vol. 2 (2023), per Spotify's track credits.
Francesco Bigoni (tenor saxophone, clarinet, electronics) - reed player in Santimone's Unscientific Italians on Play The Music Of Bill Frisell Vol. 1 (2021) and Vol. 2 (2022) and in his Laser Pigs on Ecce Combo; also his bandmate in Zeno De Rossi's Shtik (Me'or 'Einayim, 2007; The Manne I Love!, 2010), the Osmiza album Pop Gossip (2005), Gianluca Petrella's Cosmic Band and Camera Lirica (2014). Discogs-confirmed.
Filippo Vignato (trombone, electronics) - one of the trombonists in Santimone's Unscientific Italians on Play The Music Of Bill Frisell Vol. 1 (2021) and Vol. 2 (2022); Santimone also plays piano with Vignato on Piero Bittolo Bon's Bread & Fox records Big Hell On Air (2016) and This Is Sour Music (2019) and on Enzo Favata's Os Caminhos De Garibaldi (2024), and on tracks 12 and 13 of the MOF quintet's Fried Generation (2013); Discogs-confirmed.
Gabriele Evangelista (double bass) - bassist on Gaia Mattiuzzi's Inner Core (2022), which features Santimone on electronics.
Gabriele Mitelli (trumpet) - leader of Hymnus Ad Nocturnum (2014, Parco della Musica Records), credited "Gabriele Mitelli With Alfonso Santimone, Giulio Corini, Nelide Bandello," on which Santimone plays piano; Discogs-verified.
Nelide Bandello (drums) - drummer alongside Santimone on Hymnus Ad Nocturnum (2014), Einfalt's When The Teacher and Live In Lugano (2024, with Andrea Ayassot and Giulio Corini); Discogs-verified. Profiled separately on this site.
Giancarlo Schiaffini (trombone, tuba, euphonium) - credited together on Os Caminhos De Garibaldi (2024). Discogs-confirmed.
Giorgio Pacorig (piano, Fender Rhodes) - the quartet record The Crypt: Act I / The Bisiakistan Renegades (2011, with Piero Bittolo Bon and Danilo Gallo), the two-piano lineup on Falsopiano's 8888 (2011), Zeno De Rossi Shtik's Me'or 'Einayim (2007) and Giovanni Maier Technicolor's Featuring Marc Ribot + A Turtle Soup (2007). Discogs-verified.
Giovanni Maier (double bass, cello) - credited alongside Alfonso Santimone on Featuring Marc Ribot + A Turtle Soup (2007).
Giulio Corini (double bass) - bassist on Hymnus Ad Nocturnum (2014, Gabriele Mitelli) and Live In Lugano (2024, Andrea Ayassot), both with drummer Nelide Bandello, and on Einfalt's When The Teacher; confirmed at the Discogs credit level.
Glauco Benedetti (tuba, sousaphone, euphonium) - tuba on Domenico Caliri's Camera Lirica (2014), on Piero Bittolo Bon's Bread & Fox albums Big Hell On Air (2016) and This Is Sour Music (2019) and in the Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra, which Santimone directs (2019); Discogs-confirmed. Already profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Mirco Rubegni (trumpet) - fellow sideman on Jazzitaliano Live 2007, Domenico Caliri's Camera Lirica (2014), and all three Unscientific Italians releases (2021-22); Discogs-confirmed.
Simone Massaron (guitar) - fellow featured player on Giovanni Maier Technicolor's Featuring Marc Ribot + A Turtle Soup (2007) and fellow sideman on the El Gallo Rojo label sampler El Dias de Los Muertos (2013); Discogs-confirmed.
Zeno De Rossi (drums) - drummer on Alfonso Santimone Laser Pigs' Ecce Combo. Discogs-confirmed.
More Avant-Garde Jazz Artists
See all 406 Avant-Garde Jazz artists →More Italian Jazz Artists
See all 514 Italian artists →Discogs API, artist 1266984 ("Alfonso Santimone"), for release-level credits, personnel, labels, years and group affiliations.
Official artist CV/biography note, as filed with the Conservatorio di Musica "Luca Marenzio," Brescia (consbs.it), for birth date/place, career summary, teaching record and awards.
Jazz Album: Resonance Surfers by Alfonso Santimone - All About Jazz
Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band - Coming Tomorrow - Part One - Discogs release 7265979
Gianluca Petrella Cosmic Band - Coming Tomorrow - Part Two - Discogs release 7266113
Guano Padano Plays With Enrico Rava - La Giostra - Discogs release 35653441
Enzo Favata - Os Caminhos De Garibaldi - Discogs release 30314621
Alfonso Santimone Laser Pigs - Ecce Combo - Discogs release 3506930
Il Mattino di Padova: "Patrizia Laquidara, voce funambola per «Il canto dell'anguana»"
Spotify (keyless oEmbed and web search verification), for artist- and album-page confirmation.