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Antonio Figura Music
Pianist Composer
About
Antonio Figura
Pianist/Composer/Educator
Antonio Figura is currently a full-time professor of music at the Istituto Comprensivo Marino Centro - Indirizzo Musicale in Marino, Roma.
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 vice president 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.
Figura is currently working on two new discographic projects scheduled for release by the end of 2025: "A Kind and Gentle Light," a collaboration with David Schroeder featuring special guests Michael Fitzpatrick and Pham Quang Tri (ComboNuvo Records), and "Silent Sail" with Lucrezio de Seta and Massimiliano Rolff (Hemiola & Slowfoot Production).
In the summer of 2024, Figura joined the association "SlowFootMusic," which aims to create one of the most active and influential independent music agencies in Europe. This collective of musicians believes in producing and promoting music with a thoughtful and high-quality approach. The initiative seeks to preserve quality music within our cultures and traditions, counteract the fast-paced lifestyle, and combat the declining interest in cheap, commercial music entertainment. They believe that music is intertwined with various life aspects, including culture, politics, and the environment. By making intentional cultural choices, they aim to collectively influence their lives and contribute to creating a better world. (www.slowfootmusic.com).
His discography includes: - “Echoes of Dusk Silent Sail (Hemiola/Slowfoot Records) “A Kind and Gentle Light” David Schroeder/Antonio Figura with special guests 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 arranged 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) - "Zazy" (Caligola Records, 2001)
**Awards:** -
*SPACE BETWEEN*: Greatest 100 Jazz Album - Jazzit Awards, November/December 2013 -
*STRONG PLACE NEW YORK TRIO*: Recommended by "Musica Jazz" Magazine, July 2011
Quotes
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"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).
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"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)
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"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)
The album "Been Here And Gone" published in the USA by ComboNuvo Records is now available in Italy on Jazzit Records.
It is possible to receive the CD along with the Jazzit Magazine, where you can read an interview we did with Sergio Pasquandrea and a guide for listening written by Dave and myself.