JAZZPROFILES lives in the music 1,572 Jazz Artists fully Profiled! Furio Di Castri
Last updated October 1, 2026
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Furio Di Castri, Italian jazz double bassist, official portrait, used as a stand-in — no free-licensed (Wikimedia Commons or similar) photo of Di Castri could be located after a genuine search. Standard copyright, all rights reserved — held by Furio Di Castri / photographer. This is not a Creative Commons–licensed image; it is used here as an honestly-disclosed editorial stand-in for a real photo. — Downloaded directly from Di Castri's official website biography page (https://furiodicastri.it/en/biography/), hosted at i0.wp.com (Jetpack image CDN mirroring furiodicastri.it). Saved locally as portrait.jpg in this folder.
Furio Di Castri was born in Milan on September 12, 1955, started on trumpet at 11, and switched to electric bass at 13. Self-taught, he began in rhythm and blues and progressive rock bands, cutting his first record with Dedalus in 1973 before moving to double bass. In 1978 he relocated to Rome, playing with saxophonists Maurizio Giammarco and Massimo Urbani, and met Chet Baker there, an on-and-off playing partnership that ran from 1988 onward.
In February 1981 he joined Enrico Rava's band alongside Franco D'Andrea and Aldo Romano, both already profiled on jazzprofiles.com, and a few months later became the bassist in pianist Michel Petrucciani's first working trio. He has also recorded with Dino Saluzzi, Dave Liebman, Ray Anderson, and Albert Mangelsdorff, and appears alongside Rita Marcotulli and Paolo Fresu, both already profiled here.
His discography runs past 200 total album credits, 20 as leader, and he has toured across Europe, the Americas, and as far afield as Senegal, China, Japan, and Korea. Since 1990 he has taught double bass and ensemble at the Siena Jazz Foundation, and now directs the Jazz Department at the Conservatory of Turin, teaching jazz composition and double bass.
Di Castri's playing spans post-bop, free improvisation, and Chet Baker-adjacent lyricism, shaped by his early years alongside Enrico Rava and Michel Petrucciani and his ongoing engagement with the Paul Bley circle of pianists and improvisers.
- Sunday Afternoon (2024, Parco della Musica Records) - his newest album. Spotify - Sunday Afternoon Listen
- Zapping (2008) - with Rita Marcotulli, Nguyên Lê, and others. Spotify - Zapping Listen
- Chaos (1998, Soul Note) - with Paul Bley and Tony Oxley. Listen
Furio Di Castri: Full Discography
Scope note: Press coverage states over 200 total album credits with 20 as leader. This file covers his Discogs-confirmed leader releases; the full sideman catalog (Enrico Rava, Michel Petrucciani, Chet Baker, Dino Saluzzi, Dave Liebman, Ray Anderson, Albert Mangelsdorff among them) is not exhaustively itemized.
Identity confirmed via Discogs artist ID 257441 ("Furio Di Castri"). No collision found.
LEADER: full detail
| Album | Year | Label | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaos | 1998 | Soul Note | With Paul Bley and Tony Oxley. | Spotify | not found |
| Wooden You | 1999 | Splasc(h) Records | With Mauro Negri (clarinet, bass clarinet); previously missing from this table, added on Discogs release 3211445 extraartists confirmation. | not found | not found |
| Zapping | 2008 | Promo Music | With Rita Marcotulli, Nguyên Lê, Eric Vloeimans, Joël Allouche, Mauro Negri (clarinet, bass clarinet). | Spotify | not found |
| Homage to Paul Bley | 2015 | Leo Records | Trio with Arrigo Cappelletti (piano) and Bruce Ditmas (drums). | Spotify | not found |
| Sunday Afternoon | 2024 | Parco della Musica Records | Most recent leader album; Fabio Giachino plays keyboards and effects. | Spotify | not found |
Full catalog (30+ Main/leader entries alone, 1985-2024) at Discogs: Furio Di Castri.
Pietro Tonolo (tenor/soprano saxophone) - featured alongside Di Castri on Tonolo's 1984 studio debut as a leader, Quartet Quintet Sextet.
Maurizio Giammarco (saxophone) - Lingomania's Riverberi (1986) and co-billed on Live At The Big Mama (2001), both Discogs-confirmed.
Ramberto Ciammarughi (piano) - fellow sideman on What Colour For A Tale (1991, Splasc(H) Records), where Di Castri leads and Ciammarughi plays piano and synthesizers; Discogs-confirmed. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Arrigo Cappelletti (piano) - trio partner, with Bruce Ditmas, on Homage to Paul Bley (2015, Leo Records).
Enrico Rava - bassist in his band from 1981.
Franco D'Andrea - bandmate in Enrico Rava's group.
Rita Marcotulli - collaborator, Zapping (2008).
Paolo Fresu - recorded collaborator.
Emanuele Cisi (saxophone) - co-billed alongside Di Castri, Paolo Fresu and Andrea Dulbecco on Scalabrun (1995, Queyras Val Pellice); Di Castri also produced and co-plays on Cisi's own leader album Welcome (2008, Effemusic), co-composing two of its tracks. Already profiled separately on this project.
Fabio Giachino (piano, keyboards) - Di Castri wrote liner notes for Giachino's trio debut Introducing Myself (2012, Musicamdo), and Giachino plays keyboards and effects on Di Castri's Sunday Afternoon (2024, Parco della Musica Records); both Discogs-verified. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Mauro Negri (clarinet, saxophone) - Discogs-confirmed across two decades and both directions: Di Castri plays bass on Negri's own Line Up (2005, with Fabrizio Sferra and Paolo Birro), and Negri guests on Di Castri's Wooden You (1999, Splasc(h)) and Zapping (2008, Promo Music). Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Fabrizio Sferra (drums) - co-billed on Welcome (2008) with Emanuele Cisi, on Lewis Porter's Italian Encounter: Lewis Porter at Siena Jazz (2007) and on Mauro Negri's Line Up (2005); Discogs-confirmed. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Gabriele Comeglio (alto saxophone, arranger, bandleader) - fellow member of the all-star ensemble on Franco Ambrosetti's Grazie Italia (Enja, 2000), with Comeglio on alto saxophone; Discogs-confirmed. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Gianni Cazzola (drums) - beside Di Castri's bass on Oscar Rocchi's Alchemy in Jazz (1979) and the Guido Manusardi Trio's Allo Studio 7 - Immagini Visive (1981); profiled separately on this site.
Giovanni Falzone (trumpet) - trumpeter on Sunday Afternoon (Parco della Musica Records, 2024), alongside Achille Succi, Fabio Giachino and drummer Mattia Barbieri. Discogs-confirmed. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Guido Manusardi (piano) - bassist on the Guido Manusardi Trio's Allo Studio 7 - Immagini Visive (Dire, 1981) and on the sextet album The Village Fair (Soul Note, 1997); Discogs-verified.
Luca Flores (piano) - fellow sideman on Chet Baker's A Night at the Shalimar Club (Philology, 1991), alongside flautist Nicola Stilo, and on Flores's own "Where Extremes Meet" (1987); Discogs-confirmed. Profiled separately on this site.
Massimo Urbani (alto saxophone) and Luigi Bonafede (piano) - rhythm section together on Massimo Urbani's single Dedication To A.A. & J.C. / Max's Mood (1980), Discogs-confirmed alongside drummer Paolo Pellegatti.
Riccardo Biancoli (drums) - fellow credited personnel on Simone Guiducci's New Flamenco Sketches (1994, Le Parc), alongside Enrico Rava and Mauro Negri; Discogs-verified. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Simone Guiducci (guitar) - leader of New Flamenco Sketches (1994, Le Parc), on which Di Castri plays bass alongside Enrico Rava; Discogs-verified. Profiled on JazzProfiles.com.
Sandro Gibellini (guitar) - fellow sideman on Pietro Tonolo's Quartet Quintet Sextet (1984). Profiled separately on this site.
Stefano Cantini (soprano saxophone) - fellow sideman, alongside Ramberto Ciammarughi, on Di Castri's own What Colour For A Tale (1991); Di Castri also produced Cantini's Toucan (1989, Giochi Proibiti Con Enrico Rava), on which Cantini plays soprano saxophone; both Discogs-confirmed.
