Tony Cigna's biography     

Drummer, composer, Tony Cigna, born in Italy, started to play music while very young, cultivating, from the very beginning, a great interest for jazz-music and everything that surrounded the jazz-scene. In 1979 he collaborated at “Brazilian music and rhythms” together the Brazilian percussionist Alfonso Vieira. In 1984 he frequented the courses of Berklee Summer School of Music and had Jimmy Cobb as docent, in the same year he played with the Paul Jeffrey’s big-band at the Umbria International Jazz festival. In Italy he collaborated with musicians such as: Marco Tamburini, Mauro Shiavone, Orazio Maugeri, Paul Jeffrey (US), Jeff Silvertrust (US), Lelio Giannetto and many others. In 1987 he transferred to Denmark [Copenhagen] where he studied and made some master classes with Ed Thigpen (US), at the "Rhythmic Conservatory" and at the same time he collaborated with many Scandinavian jazz musicians.

In 1991, together with the jazz musicians Thomas Agergaard (DK), Nikolaj Hess (DK) and Ole Rasmussen (DK), he recorded, as a sideman, the album “To Meet again”, which was produced and distributed by the Scandinavian jazz label Olufsen Records. For many years now, Tony Cigna has been working as a sideman in different bands and recordings as well as a music teacher on full time scale at the Danish civic music schools. In March 2000 the Italian TDS records released the music project, latin(o)touch, this record contains his own compositions, the record has been well received with positive reviews in various music magazines, the Danish magazine JAZZspecial ( årgang 2000 nr. 54 ) has published an his interview.

Between 1998 and 2003 Tony Cigna toured a lot, together with the world music group Taberna Mylaensis in many European countries such as Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, Turkey, Denmark and Italy, giving concerts in theaters and international festivals as well as performing in television for the VPRO TVV in Holland and for the RAI Italian television. In the same period a live CD “La Chiami Sicilia” was produced and released by the Holland label PAN records. Presently Tony Cigna is touring and recording with various European musicians such as Tomas Franck (S), Thomas Fryland (DK), Marco Tamburini (IT), Jesper Riis (DK), Jonas Westergaard (DK),  Orazio Maugeri (IT), Niels Ryde (DK),  Erik Ørum Von Spreckelsen (DK), Daniel Franck (S), Christina von Bülow (DK). Besides, from the beginning of 2006 he has become a part of a project, "ReBop Union", leaded by the talented young guitarist and composer, Francesco Cigna, with whom he has co produced a CD called "Blue Notes", released in September 10th 2007, by the Danish jazz label Calibrated . Furthermore he has released a new cd "DEDICATION" with the pianist  Erik Ørum Von Spreckelsen,in march 2012.

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