About
About
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Antonio Figura is currently a full-time professor of music at the public school "Marianna Dionigi" in Lanuvio, Rome.
He served as an adjunct faculty member at New York University Steinhardt’s Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions from 2021 to 2022.
Figura holds graduate music degrees from the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Music in Florence and the Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Music in Rome, as well as an Advanced Diploma (Artist Diploma) in Jazz Instrumental Performance from New York University.
Since 2003, he has conducted master classes at Washington University in St. Louis focusing on a cultural approach to jazz improvisation and composition.
From 2003 to 2006, Figura was the music director at the Golden View Jazz Club in Florence. He has performed extensively throughout Europe and the United States since 1996, collaborating with a broad array of artists and projects.
In 2016, he was appointed as a member of the PSMSAD Fund (Painters, Sculptors, Musicians, Writers, and Authors Dramatic), which aims to support collaborations with similar institutions in Italy and abroad for training, development, and fostering successful international partnerships.
In 2014, he was featured in the Italian Jazz Dictionary by Flavio Caprera, published by Feltrinelli.
In the summer of 2024, Figura joined SlowFootMusic, an association committed to becoming one of Europe's leading independent music agencies. Bringing together a collective of musicians, the organization promotes the creation and dissemination of music through a conscious, sustainable, and quality-driven approach.
SlowFootMusic is dedicated to preserving the cultural value of music and safeguarding the traditions that shape our artistic heritage. In response to the increasing pace of contemporary life and the growing dominance of mass-produced commercial entertainment, the association advocates for a more mindful and meaningful engagement with music.
Its members believe that music is deeply connected to culture, society, politics, and the environment. By making deliberate cultural choices, they seek not only to enrich artistic expression but also to inspire positive social change and contribute to building a more conscious and sustainable world. www.slowfootmusic.com
His discography includes:
"Echoes of Dusk Silent Sail" (Hemiola/Slowfoot Records)
"A Kind and Gentle Light" – David Schroeder/Antonio Figura featuring Michael Fitzpatrick & Pham Quang Tri (ComboNuvo Records)
"Been Here and Gone" (ComboNuvo Records/Jazzit Records)
"Along the Appian Way" – The Music of David Schroeder and Antonio Figura, directed by Rich Shemaria (ComboNuvo Records)
"A Journey With A Small Red Car" (Jazzit Records)
"Frères De Voyage" (Lampyridae – Live @ AMR Geneva)
"Space Between" (Headache Production/Groove Studios)
"Ukitusa" (Schema Rearward Records)
"Strong Place New York Trio" (Schema Rearward Records)
"Cyclo" (Caligola Records)
"Zazj" (Caligola Records)
Quotes
"Virtuoso pianist, eclectic, lyrical and versatile, his music combines with great sensitivity the tradition of European and Afro-American music."
(The Italian Jazz Dictionary by Flavio Caprera published by Feltrinelli).
"Antonio has a definite personality and his piano playing has characteristics very defined.”
(Piacentino - Musica Jazz Magazine)
"In his aesthetic world, there are Paul Bley's influences, who is perhaps the most obvious reference, Bill Evans and, further back, up to Teddy Wilson. Great masters who he knew to internalize to build a personal style. His pages are well laid out, with a great sense of space." (Gerlando Gatto - A proposito di Jazz)
"Antonio knows how to exploit the dynamic qualities of the piano, and he honors the space between the notes.
He's achieved a truly timeless trio sound that really gives your imagination space to wander."
(Soweto Kinch)
"Beautiful sounds from pianist Antonio Figura, a player who's got a great sense of space, and who really knows how to keep us waiting breathlessly for each new note! Figura's definitely of the Bill Evans school, but also has a more modern approach too, one that draws from a real 21st Century take on jazz piano, that sense of flow and almost blocks of sound that we love..."
(Dusty Groove America)
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