About Alice Ricciardi

Italian jazz singer and composer Alice Ricciardi, born in Milan now living between Rome and New York, approached music at seven, attending the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan where she studied violin and piano. In 1998 she started studying jazz singing at "Accademia Internazionale della Musica" in Milan directed by Enrico Intra and Franco Cerri. In 2002 she achieved European diploma "F.N.E.I.J." (Federation Nationale des Ecoles d' Influence Jazz et des Musiques Actuelles) in France, valid for the instruction of jazz and modern music in all Europe. She also studied with Rachel Gould in Italy, and with Jazz Legend Ran Blake in Boston. Award Winning 2nd prize at 2005 International Montreux Jazz Festival Voice Competition - Performer at 2006 IAJE Conference in New York and at Jazz at the Lincoln Center Dizzys Club.

Collaborations include some of the most renowned Italian and international musicians such as: Fabrizio Bosso, Nicola Conte, Flavio Boltro, Pietro Lussu, Giovanni Amato, Gaetano Partipilo, Dario Deidda, Enrico Bracco, Marco Valeri, Enrico Intra, Franco Cerri, Civica Jazz Band directed by Enrico Intra, Till Bronner, Magnus Lindgren, Olivier Hutman, Darryl Hall, Gregory Hutchinson, Olivier Temime, James Cammack, Joseph Lepore, Adam Pache, Anthony Pinciotti, Will Terrill, Neal Miner, Jesper Lundgaard, Morten Lund, Darrell Green, Ameen Saleem, Dezron Douglas, Saul Rubin, Jose James,Ville Herrala,Teppo Mäkynen.

She performed at:Teatro Morlacchi Umbria Jazz, Jazzhus Montmartre Copenhagen, Blue Note Tokyo, Cotton Club Tokyo, Jazz Cafe London, HighLine BallRoom New York, Regatta Bar Boston,The Kitano NYC, The Big Chill Festival UK, Blue Note Milano, Auditorium Parco Della Musica Roma, Casa Del Jazz Roma, Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory Milano, Villa Ada Roma, Piccolo Teatro Milano, Teatro Romano Verona, Anfiteatro Romano Cagliari, Sferisterio Macerata, Stadio dei Marmi Roma, Istanbul Jazz Center, Montreux Jazz Festival, Aarhus Jazz Festival, Bangen Jazz Festival, Dubai Jazz Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Koko Jazz Club Helsinki, ShapeShifter Lab NY, Smalls Jazz Club NYC. Her debut album "COMES LOVE" was released for the label Blue Note/EMI.

Her new album "OPTICS" came out on November 2014 for the Greg Osby's label Inner Circle Music.

OPTICS perfectly showcases Alice's versatility and understated elegance of her sound. It provides ample proof that she is one of the jazz world's most diverse and distinctly unique singer. With her warm and compelling voice, she choses to treat the songs simply, letting the songs speak with contemporary arrangements. Joining Alice Ricciardi on this intimate and richly melodic collection are some of the most outstanding and charismatic italian musicians; the impressive pianist and composer Pietro Lussu, guitarist and composer Enrico Bracco, worldwide renewed bassist Dario Deidda and drummer MarcoValeri.

The album begins with the passionate and obscure standard Deep Song. This opening perfectly defines the mood of the album, introspective and classically modern. Anyone Lived In A Pretty How Town is introduced with a reading by great American poet E.E. Cummings. The musicality and power of Cummings' voice, as well as the extraordinary power and impact of his words have inspired this small tribute.The musicians who accompany Alice, followed by Cummings provide the right balance, creating the perfect ensemble for one of mostly improvisation songs. A hypnotic guitar arpeggio introduces Optics, a light and dreamy 3/4, written along with pianist Simona Premazzi. Next up is I Feel A Song Coming On, a concrete, yet vulnerable and mysterious piece. Sorrow features Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem; it is a touching cameo suspended between melody, sounds and imagery. Through Flying In A Box, written by Enrico Bracco, listeners can inhale inebriating and joyful energy. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing, Billy Strayhorn's masterpiece, has a bucolic and placidly musky mood. Change of scenery with Worry Later by Thelonious Monk, featuring a marked and sensually lazy groove. The album comes to a close with I've Heard An Organ Talk Sometimes by Aaron Copland with lyrics by Emily Dickinson, transformed into a simple and warm folk ballad, waving as a hand greeting from a distance.