Concert Dinner on Amalfi Coast at M'Ama! Rooftop Terrace in Praiano

Valentina Ranalli — voice

A Neapolitan singer-songwriter of rare elegance, Valentina Ranalli is one of the most original and distinctive voices in contemporary Italian jazz. A graduate with top honours in Jazz Singing from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, she has built a unique artistic path rooted in classical singing, gospel and pop, blossoming fully into jazz with disarming naturalness.

Gifted with purity of tone, mastery of phrasing and an exceptional improvisational ability, she sings in Italian, English, French, Portuguese and Neapolitan, embracing different musical worlds with equal authenticity. It is no coincidence that Enrico Pieranunzi, one of the towering figures of international jazz, described her in these words:

"A true revelation — her talent, her intelligence, her creativity take the form of reflections on music that are never banal."

A regular presence on the US touring circuit, her album Cantare Pieranunzi (AlfaMusic, 2022) — created alongside Pieranunzi himself, for whom she wrote original lyrics in multiple languages set to his compositions — was celebrated by the international press as a "Jazz Révélation" in the pages of Jazz Magazine. A recognition that speaks to the standing of an artist capable of holding her own alongside the great names of world jazz.

Seta — the album

Her latest work, Seta (Emme Record Label), is an album as elegant and delicate as an impressionist painting: a dreamlike landscape coloured by light, hazy, transparent sonorities. Original compositions, lyrics and arrangements, with a modern and precise sound that reaches the listener at times as a burst of energy and at others as the gentlest of embraces.

Standout moments include a tribute to the music of Debussy, a musical setting of a poem by Stefano Benni dedicated to Billie Holiday, and an interpretation — with an original, previously unheard lyric — of a piece by Armenian pianist Vardan Ovsepian. The title track is both an elegant, refined composition and a state of mind: a positive approach to the start of each new day.

Seta is also a symbol of change, metamorphosis and evolution — a luminous photograph of Valentina Ranalli's artistic and human moment, oriented towards warmth, smiles and a vision of the world that is at once gentle and full of energy.

Francesco Marziani — piano

Born in Naples in 1980, Francesco Marziani is one of the most accomplished and admired jazz pianists of his generation. A graduate with distinction in both Classical Piano and Jazz Piano from the Martucci Conservatory in Salerno, he began an internationally oriented performing career from an early age.

In 2008 he was awarded the prestigious Premio Massimo Urbani, one of the most sought-after honours in Italian jazz. With an impeccable technique and a natural instinct for swing, he moves fluidly between the Afro-American tradition and the musical culture of Naples, creating a wholly personal artistic voice. He has collaborated and recorded with internationally renowned artists including Jesse Davis, Gerald Cannon, Jimmy Cobb, Bobby Dhuram, Shawnn Monteiro and Massimo Moriconi, and is widely regarded today as one of the most sensitive and romantic composers and performers on the national jazz scene.

Antonio Napolitano — double bass

An internationally acclaimed double bassist, Antonio Napolitano is the winner of the 1st Prize "Jimmy Woode", the "Chicco Bettinardi – New Talents of Italian Jazz" competition and the Premio Moncalieri Jazz. He has collaborated with artists of the calibre of Lauren Henderson, Jesse Davis, David Kikoski, Bobby Watson and Joyce Elaine Yuille, bringing to the quartet a rhythmic solidity and musical sensitivity of the very highest order.

Max Del Pezzo — drums

A versatile and accomplished drummer, Max Del Pezzo has performed and recorded with world-renowned musicians including Greg Cohen, Mark Sherman, Emanuele Cisi, Nico Gori, Gabriele Mirabassi, Dario Deidda and Massimo Moriconi. His presence completes and cements a quartet of rare artistic cohesion.