Riccardo Del Fra Explained

Riccardo Del Fra (born February 20, 1956, Rome) is an Italian jazz double-bassist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.

Del Fra first played guitar, then switched to upright bass when he was sixteen years old. He studied at a conservatory, played in the RAI Orchestra, and did work as a studio musician for film scores in the 1970s.^[1] Concomitantly, he began playing as a sideman in jazz venues in Rome for touring musicians, such as Art Blakey, Art Farmer, and Kai Winding. He joined Enrico Pieranunzi's ensemble in the late 1970s and played with Chet Baker; Del Fra and Baker played together frequently thereafter until Baker's death.

Del Fra eventually moved to Paris, where he worked in a trio setting with Alain Jean-Marie and Al Levitt and played local clubs as the backing band for visiting Americans. He also worked with Charles Loos, Barney Wilen, Lee Konitz, Joe Diorio, and Bob Brookmeyer in the 1980s and 1990s.

Discography

• Mr. B Chet Baker Trio (Timeless, 1983)
• Chet Baker Trio live at Ronnie Scott's (Jazzdor, 1986 and DVD, Wadham Film – Hendring, 1986)
• Chet Baker Sings Again Chet Baker Quartet (Timeless, 1986)
• La Note Bleue (IDA Records 1986) with Barney Wilen
• French Ballads (IDA Records, 1987) with Barney Wilen
• A Sip of Your Touch (IDA Records, 1989)
• Sorserez (1995) with Jacques Pellen
• Paris Suite Bob Brookmeyer New Quartet (Challenge, 1995) with Bob Brookmeyer
• Double Take (RAM Records 1998) with Joe Diorio
• Voulouz Loar – Velluto di Luna (GWP, 1998) with Annie Ebrel
• Soft Talk (Sketch, 2000) with Michel Graillier
• Overnight (Sketch, 2002) with John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler
• Empreintes (Sketch, 2003) with Bruno Angelini, Ichirō Onoe
  • Roses and Roots (Nocturne, 2005) with Bruno Ruder, Sylvain Rifflet, Joey Baron John Ruocco: Am I Asking Too Much (Pirouet, 2008) with John Taylor
• Sky Changes (Jazzheads, 2012) with Dave Liebman, Benjamin von Gutzeit, Manhattan School of Music Chamber Jazz Ensemble & Tactus
• My Chet My Song (Cristal Records, 2014) with Airelle Besson, Pierrick Pedron, Bruno Ruder, Billy Hart
• Moving People (Cristal Records, 2018) with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tomasz Dąbrowski, Jan Prax, Rémi Fox, Carl-Henri Morisset, Jason Brown
• Chet Visions (Cristal, 2019)

Notes and References

1. Andre Clergeat, "Riccardo Del Fra". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.