JAZZPROFILES lives in the music 1,765 Jazz Artists fully Profiled! Ettore Fioravanti
Last updated October 21, 2026
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Ettore Fioravanti performing in concert at the Casa del Jazz, Rome, June 6, 2015. CC BY 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ettore_Fioravanti.jpg (photo by Andreasamma67)
Ettore Fioravanti was born in Rome on May 18, 1958. His earliest musical influences were Lucio Battisti's songs, followed by a full immersion in progressive rock, before Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman showed him the connection between great jazz and melody, with Max Roach as his reference point on drums.
He studied with Fabio Marconcini of the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, historic jazz drummer Gegè Munari, and Bruno Biriaco of the jazz-rock band Perigeo, was among the first students at Rome's Testaccio School of Music in 1975, and earned his percussion diploma from the Conservatory of L'Aquila in 1984. A brief 1990 stay in the United States got him lessons with Alan Dawson and Bob Moses.
Since 1975 he has recorded with dozens of artists, including Gianluigi Trovesi and Paolo Fresu, both already profiled on jazzprofiles.com, plus Dave Liebman, Steve Swallow, and Kenny Wheeler. His discography runs past 60 titles, twelve as leader, including his long-running Belcanto project, built specifically to showcase emerging musicians. He has taught at Siena Jazz from 1990 to 2022, coordinated the Jazz Department at the Frosinone Conservatory from 2003 to 2014, and has taught at Rome's Santa Cecilia Conservatory since 2014.
Fioravanti's playing sits in a post-bop and contemporary jazz tradition, shaped by Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, and Max Roach after an early background in progressive rock. His Belcanto project reflects a career-long commitment to jazz education alongside performance.
- Belcanto (1996, RAM Records) - the project built to showcase emerging musicians.
- Navigare (2025, Parco della Musica Records) - his newest album. Listen
Ettore Fioravanti: Full Discography
Identity confirmed via Discogs artist ID 1477248 ("Ettore Fioravanti"). Related entities (Belcanto, Quartet, Opus Magnum) are his own named projects, not collisions.
Scope note: Press coverage states 60+ total recording credits with twelve as leader. Discogs lists 13 Main/leader releases; sideman credits (Trovesi, Fresu, Dave Liebman, Swallow, Wheeler among them) are not exhaustively itemized here. One specific sideman-adjacent credit worth surfacing: Thinking (2006, Blue Note/EMI) is a full album of Fioravanti's own compositions, credited to the Paolo Fresu Quintet (Fresu, Attilio Zanchi on bass, Fioravanti on drums), Discogs-verified.
LEADER: full detail
| Album | Year | Label | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sotto il Sole Giaguaro | 1989 | (self-released) | YouTube | not found | |
| Sette Canzoni | 1990 | Phrases | not found | not found | |
| Canzoni Non Cantate | 1993 | MM Records | not found | not found | |
| Meditango | 1994 | Onyx JazzClub | not found | not found | |
| Belcanto | 1996 | RAM Records | Launched his long-running project built to showcase emerging musicians. | not found | not found |
| La Musica Rubata | 2001 | Onyx JazzClub | not found | not found | |
| Millenovecento | 2006 | Double Stroke | Spotify | not found | |
| Opus Magnum | 2019 | Alfa Music | Spotify | not found | |
| Le Vie del Pane e del Fuoco | 2011 | Note Sonanti | Spotify | not found | |
| Body & Soul | 2011 | RAM Records | not found | not found | |
| Traditori | 2014 | Alfa Music | Spotify | not found | |
| Old and New Dances | 2024 | Parco della Musica Records | Spotify | not found | |
| Fluet | 2025 | Dodicilune | Spotify | not found | |
| Navigare | 2025 | Parco della Musica Records | Most recent release. | Spotify | not found |
Roberto Ottaviano (soprano saxophone) - co-billed quartet-mate on Sotto Il Sole Giaguaro (1989), alongside pianist Stefano Battaglia and bassist Piero Leveratto; Discogs-confirmed.
Pietro Tonolo (tenor/soprano saxophone) - Ettore Fioravanti Quartet, Ricercar Scintille (1998).
Gianluigi Trovesi - recorded collaborator.
Paolo Fresu - recorded collaborator.
Attilio Zanchi (double bass) - Discogs-verified rhythm-section partner in the Paolo Fresu Quintet lineup of the late 1980s-early 1990s (Paolo Fresu Quintet 1989 Live, 1992, Blu Jazz); Fioravanti also wrote the compositions performed on Thinking (2006, Blue Note/EMI), credited to the same Paolo Fresu Quintet with Zanchi on bass; Fioravanti guests on drums on "Dave," a track on Zanchi's own leader debut Early Spring (1987, Splasc(h) Records).
Danilo Terenzi (trombone) - fellow sideman, alongside Paolo Damiani, Gianluigi Trovesi and Paolo Fresu, on the Damiani Opus Music Ensemble's Flashback (1984), confirmed at the Discogs credit level; profiled separately on this site.
Enrico Zanisi (piano) - pianist on Fioravanti's Le Vie Del Pane E Del Fuoco (2011) and Traditori (2014), and the drummer on Zanisi's debut trio album Quasi Troppo Serio (2009, with bassist Pietro Ciancaglini); all Discogs-verified.
Eugenio Colombo (alto and soprano saxophones, flute) - leader of Curriculum Vitae (1986), Sorgente Sonora (1988), Guida Blu (1999) and Tales Of Love And Death (2000), all with Fioravanti on drums, and co-billed with him on Meditango (1994); also on Serenata (1989) and Bad News From Tuba Trio (1999). Discogs-confirmed.
Ramberto Ciammarughi (piano) - co-billed leader, alongside Fioravanti, Tommaso, Colombo, Adele Madau and Roberto Schiano, on Meditango (1994, Onyx JazzClub); Discogs-confirmed. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Fabio Zeppetella (guitar) - plays guitar on Fioravanti's Canzoni Non Cantate (MM Records, recorded July 1993), Discogs-credited, alongside bassist Dario Deidda.
Filippo Vignato (trombone, electronics) - special guest on trombone, with trumpeter Francesco Fratini, on Fioravanti's Opus Magnum album Attraverso Ogni Confine (Parco della Musica Records, 2022); Discogs-confirmed.
Francesco Fratini (trumpet) - special guest on trumpet, with trombonist Filippo Vignato, on Fioravanti's Opus Magnum album Attraverso Ogni Confine (Parco della Musica Records, 2022); Discogs-confirmed.
Gavino Mele (French horn) - French horn on Roberto Spadoni Nine's Panta Rei (2007), on which Fioravanti plays drums, confirmed at the Discogs credit level; profiled separately on this site.
Giancarlo Schiaffini (trombone, tuba, euphonium) - credited together on Flashback (1984), Sorgente Sonora (1988 and 2005), Discanto (1994), Guida Blu (1999) and Bad News From Tuba Trio (1999). Discogs-confirmed.
Gianni Lenoci (piano) - Guida Blu (Splasc(h), 1999) and Tales Of Love And Death (Leo, 2000) with Eugenio Colombo, both with Fioravanti on drums; Lenoci also has a composer credit on Fioravanti's Fluet (Dodicilune, 2025), per Discogs.
Giorgio Rosciglione (double bass) - bass on Salvatore Bonafede's Nobody's Perfect (1992, recorded February 1992 in Rome), with Fioravanti on drums; Discogs-credited. Profiled separately on this site.
Giovanni Maier (double bass, cello) - credited alongside Ettore Fioravanti on 5 releases, among them Florilegium (2001), La Musica Rubata (2002), Piú (2003, Belcanto).
Giuseppe Costa (double bass, electric bass) - bassist beside Fioravanti on drums on pianist Giovanni Mazzarino's Thinking Miles (MM Records, 1995); Discogs-verified.
Guido Di Leone (guitar) - Fioravanti is the drummer on Di Leone's trio records All For Hall (1991) and Scherzo (1993); Discogs-confirmed. Profiled separately on this site.
Luca Flores (piano) - fellow sideman on Coriandoli (1989, credited to Tiziana Simona and Riccardo Bianchi); Discogs-confirmed. Profiled separately on this site.
Marcello Allulli (tenor saxophone) - sideman on Fioravanti's Le Vie Del Pane E Del Fuoco (2011, Note Sonanti) and Traditori (2014, Alfa Music). Discogs-confirmed. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Simone Zanchini (accordion) - fellow member of Terre Di Mezzo Quartetto on Faro (2004, Wide Sound); Discogs-confirmed.
