The habit of wanting at all costs to include an artist in a certain category I believe it can be limiting. I think that in order to find an artistic identity it is not necessary being labeled in a specific category. Alberto Pizzo is a Neapolitan composer and pianist known, and also highly appreciated abroad, for his talent and for his Neapolitan character which is in all his compositions as in all his performances. Furthermore, he is highly sought after for his technique and for his ability to “democratically” harmonize different musical genres in the re-propositions of existing pieces as well as in his original pieces. From classic to jazz, from ballads to soundtracks up to Neapolitan melodies, Alberto Pizzo cannot be relegated to a single musical genre because in fact he is not. His transport for music as well as for the study of the piano has always been constant. His myths are Astor Piazzolla, Keith Jarrett and Renato Carosone whom he considers a true genius.
As a child he studied piano at school. One day his teacher, a nun who unfortunately passed away a few months ago, knocked on his door in Napoli and she wanted to talk to his father. The nun asked Alberto’s father, Giuseppe, to buy a piano for his son because as very young he showed above average talent. Thus Alberto had his first piano and studied more than 8 hours a day. He says that the nun who taught him piano was the person with whom he spent the most time. He soon began to participate in national and international contests.
With two degrees from the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Napoli, and a master’s degree in Vienna, he has also experienced a participation in classical and world music events under the direction of Roberto De Simone and he has composed for RAI and RAI International.
Alberto Pizzo has held classical music concerts in Rome, London, Tokyo, where he performed in front of thousands of enchanted Japanese people in a concert on the Japanese Stock Exchange as a solo artist and with the talented soprano Yuki Sumani. The name of the Neapolitan musician has also reached Santo Domingo and New York. There he performed in the best jazz clubs in Manhattan. During one of his concerts at Da Marino, in Time Square, his talent impressed actor Michael Douglas who invited him to perform at his private party. Did you know that Alberto Pizzo is the only Neapolitan and Italian artist who has performed at the Highline Ballroom in New York? Now you know it. He himself is very enthusiastic about the New York experience and he shares about his satisfaction when as soon as he got off the taxi in New York he was welcomed receiving demonstrations of esteem from great musicians also from the jazz circuit who are clearly less sectarian than many of our fellow musicians in Italy. In 2012, in the Big Apple, he released his first album with Cinevox Record: “The Funambulist”, which contains original songs and rearranged covers of soundtracks by Ennio Morricone, Goblin, Bixio-Frizzi-Tempera and C.A. Bixio does not lack a tribute to the classic Neapolitan song. In this cd there is a song entitled “Mediterranean”, a song that means a lot for the Neapolitan composer. It is a song in which the link with his land is clearly felt. The meaning of this song is so strong that he re-proposed it on the next album as well. “Mediterraneo” was chosen and published by Sony Music in a compilation that collects the best artists who have played live at the Palco Smeraldo of Eataly, Milan.
Two years after the release of “The Funambulist”, together with the composer and guitarist Fabrizio Sotti, he co-produced the second album: “On The Way”, a work that sees the participation of guests such as Mino Cinelu, Toquinho, David Knopfler and Renzo Arbore.
The “On the Way” tour was a world tour that also took him to the Bellini Theater in Napoli, where Alberto jammed with Chick Corea.
In “Memories”, his third album, released in 2016, there are memories and emotions translated into music. It has been recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with the artistic co-direction of Luis Bacalov.
In this cd Alberto Pizzo retraces his artistic journey from Bach up to his original pieces that he has composed, created and saved during his travels. For him they are metaphors of the important moments in his life that he has dedicated to classical music as well as to his roots and to his musical world that is not confined to a single genre. A romantic piano collection entitled “Amore” is Alberto last cd released in 2019 and featuring the best songs from his three studio albums. This romantic collection was created by Yamaha Entertainment Japan and distributed by Sony Music Japan. The disc features an extra track entitled “Passion”, composed on the occasion of the soundtrack of the Italian TV series directed by Pino Amendola and Rosario Montesanti. Entitled A.N.I.M.A.. I have seen him during the soundcheck of a concert wearing the number 10 shirt and hinting at Maradona’s jingle to warm up before the performance.
He loves Napoli and is deeply attached to it. However, he does not believe that he would go back to live there. He now lives in Tokyo with his wife, the enchanting soprano Yuki Sunami, and their child. Alberto says that in Tokyo life is better, children grow up in a peaceful atmosphere. There many spaces, there is a lot of greenery, organization and a strong civic sense.
Japan is a country with a great culture and a great sensitivity towards all the arts and Alberto, esteemed and respected as a pianist and composer, is in perfect harmony with the place and with the Japanese people. He is the only non-Japanese Yamaha artist in Japan.
Yuki, Alberto’s wife, speaks Italian very well and they have always spoken Italian to each other.
Therefore the only complication that Alberto experienced in Japan is the language.
However, having lived in the place for about two years now, his efforts and progressive improvements see him increasingly integrated into Japanese culture. In Japan we live much better than in New York, says Alberto, and he also tells us that the Japanese have a big heart even if, beyond the respect they have for our art, for our clothing and for our food, in professional circles have a very “cinematographic” vision of Italians. According to them Italians are not serious, they are laggards and light in their approach to the working world. Fortunately Alberto has dispelled this belief. He is Neapolitan and he comes, as we used to say, from the “old school”, that is the school of hard studying and discipline; therefore he has always taken music and his work, as a composer and pianist, seriously.
Alberto Pizzo always carries Napoli in his heart and he makes it known to the world through his passionate style, his great talent and his Neapolitan character.
