A native of Milan, countertenor Emiliano Loconsolo is considered one of the most distinguished and captivating vocalist to emerge from the contemporary Italian scene. Mr. Loconsolo takes a refreshing step away from today’s commercial jazz market by defining his vocality through a diverse and fascinating repertoire which draws stunning parallels between American contemporary and early Italian Songbooks.
Trained in both jazz and classical music, Mr. Loconsolo possesses a clear tone and a natural vocal range rarely experienced in Contemporary Music, and has cultivated a technique capable of smoothly blending together tenor and countertenor registers which tackles everything from Billy Strayhorn to Baroque arias, contemporary art songs and back to the 16th century Italian vilanella, surpringly rich with heart and humor.
Mr. Loconsolo is one of the very few performers today interpreting the poignant work of legendary Neapolitan singer Roberto Murolo, almost unknown in the U.S. In 2005 he collaborated with avant-garde jazz icon Irene Aebi on rarely heard and never before performed vocal compositions by her husband, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, and was a member of the American premiere of Futurities, a groundbreaking song cycle created by Mr. Lacy and renowned American poet Robert Creeley.
Emiliano has worked with some of the best jazz artists in Europe such as Stefano “Cocco” Cantini, Stefano Bollani, Paolino Dalla Porta, and Massimo Manzi. He has performed at the famous Capolinea club in Milan, the Lucca Jazz Festival in Tuscany, Break in Jazz in Milan, and the prestigious Umbria Jazz Winter Festival in Orvieto. Mr. Loconsolo was a semi-finalist for the Italian National Award Premio Massimo Urbani in 2001 and recently a finalist in the first International Young Jazz Singers Competition in Brussels. In 2005 he was invited to perform at the Bali International Jazz Festival, and was the subject of two radio specials broadcasted on Radio Palermo in Buenos Aires and on Punto Radio Cascina from Pisa. His performances have been heard on ABC Radio in Australia and public radio in Russia. Emiliano Loconsolo has performed in Boston at Scullers, the Harvard Faculty Club, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Jordan Hall, and the Berklee Performance Center. He is a co-founder of Newpoli, a Bostonbased Italian folk group. In Italy, Mr. Loconsolo was the founder of Cantinajazz, a very popular program for three years in Tuscany which explored the artistic relationship between jazz and wine through fascinating narration and live jazz classics. Mr. Loconsolo emigrated to the United States in 2002 upon receiving Berklee College of Music’s international best talent scholarship, and subsequently received a merit grant to attend New England Conservatory from where he holds a BA in Jazz Performance. His teachers include Roberta Gambarini, Mark Murphy, John Lockwood, Kevin Mahogany, Cecil McBee, Ran Blake, Dave Holland, Sheila Jordan, and Rachel Gould. He currently resides in Providence, Rhode Island.