Tiziano Tononi

by Francesco MartinelliBorn 1956 in Milan, Tiziano Tononi studied drums and percussion with great jazzmen, including Andrew Cyrille, and with classical players such as David Searcy and Jonathan Scully, percussionists of La Scala Theatre. With the latter, he created the trio Moon on the Water, devoted both to a contemporary repertoire and to original improvisations and compositions.
Tononi's long-lasting relationship with wind player Daniele Cavallanti resulted in the creation of the group Nexus and several albums with guest players like Glenn Ferris, Herb Robertson, and Dewey Redman; they also play as the free jazz duo Udu Calls. Tononi's own Society of Freely Syncopated Organic Pulses, with Cavallanti, Rossi, Renato Geremia, and Guido Mazzon, among others, has been featured in three tributes: Awake Nu, to Don Cherry; Coltrane's Infinity Train; and We Did It, We Did It!, a three-CD dedication to Roland Kirk issued by Splasc(h) in 2000, which stands as a towering achievement. Tononi and Cavallanti are founding members of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, and their compositions are regularly featured in concerts and CDs by the band.