Umberto Petrin

by Joslyn LayneItalian pianist and composer Umberto Petrin is a member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra (since 1997) and Jazz Chromatic Ensemble, and has regularly collaborated with one of Italy's original free jazzers, trumpeter Guido Mazzon. Having studied the piano since the early '70s, Petrin didn't start playing jazz until over a decade later, when he first got involved in a trio, whose recorded debut came in 1987, then also in a quartet, and began working occasionally with Milan-based Rai's Big Band. By 1990, he had ventured into free jazz territories and begun working with Mazzon, and experimenting with ways to incorporate his other love -- poetry. Petrin has written poetry since his late teens, published two collections, Perimetri and Miles, has worked on a number of literary reviews, and as a teacher. Petrin has led a number of albums for Splasc(h) Records, and collaborated with esteemed jazz musicians including Instabile members Gianluigi Trovesi and Enrico Rava, as well as Steve Lacy, Lee Konitz, and more.