CLARINET

Roberto Manzin

(Performing on Track: 8)

Roberto Manzin is a London-based alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinet EWI, piano player and composer.  He was born in Rome, Italy, of Eastern European refugees who were also musicians.  His musical life began in Milan where he moved with his family when he was five.  There, he studied music privately and then continued his musical studies at the school, Civica Scuola di Musica Villa Simonetta.

During the 1980s Manzin began playing in several music clubs in Milan, and during the 1990s was part of the Tony Scott Jazz Quintet (Scott being an American bebop clarinet player who performed with Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday).  Manzin became a successful session player, contributing to seven albums in 1992 alone, with leading Italian artists featuring in several TV commercials (Invincta, BMW, TV Sorrisi e Canzoni, etc...)

Manzin performed regularly in Milan jazz clubs such as: Il Capolinea, Le Scimmie, Tangram, with Italian jazz musicians such as Renato Sellani, Bruno De Filippi, Gianni Cazzola, Tullio De Piscopo, Giorgio Buratti and Marco Ratti.  In the same period, he toured with the Italian singer Enzo Jannacci and the American artist Gene Anthony Ray (who played the role of Leroy Johnson in Fame).  Manzin also worked extensively in TV where he played with, among others, James Brown, Zucchero Fornaciari, and Manu Katché.

in the late 1990s, Manzin migrated to London, where he continued his musical activity.  Over the years Manzin has performed and/or recorded with Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Donna Summer, Jim Mullen, Harvie S, Pino Palladino, Trilok Gurtu, Kai Eckhardt, Dennis Rollins, Roberto Pla, Roland Perrin, Richard Bailey, Ernesto Simpson, Nicolas Meier, Jason Rebello, Ska Cubano, Jesus Cutiño, Omar Puente, Alejandro Sanz, Rumer, Max  Carletti Carmel, Mario Biondi, Space UK, Dave Land, Adrian Reid; Maysa Leak, Sid Gauld and Francesco Mendolia (Incognito), Manolín "El Médico de la salsa" and many others.

Manzin continues to be a popular session player (he recorded on eight albums in 2010, ranging in style from Pop to Latin, Rock/Blues, Ska and Jazz) and appears in music festivals throughout Europe, as well as performing regularly at many venues in London. 

Manzin is currently co-leading with his wife Susannah Flack the Latin-fusion band Épocanova, featuring Susannah Flack - Steel Pan, Russ Henderson & Rudy Smith - Voice and Percussions, Roland Perrin - Piano (Dudu Pukwana, Osvaldo Chacon), Michael Castellanos - Drums (Azucar Negra, Sur Caribe) Rey  Crespo – Double Bass [Rubén Gonzalez (Piano), Omara Portuondo].