Tullio De Piscopo

Tullio De Piscopo

Tullio De Piscopo was born in 1946 in Naples. He’a drummer, singer-songwriter, percussionist and bandleader.

Raised in a family of musicians, he begins to work aged 13 in the night clubs in Bagnoli, and soon joins several jazz bands in the city.

In 1969 he moves to Turin and gets signed by Swing Club, a focal point of the local jazz scene at the time. Two years later he moves to Milan, where he starts a career marked by high-level collaborations with foreign artists, participations in orchestras, solo albums and session-man for famous musicians. Together with bass player Pino Presti he forms one of the most innovative rhythm sections, acclaimed internationally.

In the early ’70s he joins Franco Cerri Quartet, and the collaboration continues up to Franco Cerri Quintet (1973). He takes part in New Trolls Atomic System, the band formed by Vittorio De Scalzi after the split of New Trolls.

The list of collaborations is enormous: Max Roach, Gerry Mulligan, Don Cherry, Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, Billy Cobham, Gato Barbieri, Vinicius de Moraes, Toquinho, Eumir Deodato, Don Costa, Alphonso Johnson, Naná Vasconcelos, Richie Havens, Enrico Intra, Sante Palumbo, Massimo Moriconi, Mina, Adriano Celentano, Lucio Dalla, Manu Chao, Franco Battiato, Fabrizio De André, Enzo Jannacci – just to name a few.

Of paramount importance his collaboration with Pino Daniele, started in 1981 with the album “Vai mo’”, and the big tours with musicians like Alphonso Johnson, Gato Barbieri, Mel Collins, Mino Cinelu, Karl Potter, Tony Esposito, James Senese, Rino Zurzolo and Joe Amoruso.

He has composed several soundtracks, including the one to “Mi manda Picone” by Nanni Loy.

He had great success as a singer with the song “Andamento Lento”, which he brought to the Festival di Sanremo in 1988 and won the Festivalbar in the same year, as well as with other jazz-pop songs often influenced by african music.

In 2008 he returns to play with Pino Daniele after nearly thirty years, with the same musicians of the original band. The collaboration spans into the world tour of 2013 and continues until the untimely disappearance of the artist.

In 2014, he publishes his biografy “Tempo! La mia vita” (Hoepli). He’s been long working on the production of a docufilm (“Tullio De Piscopo – cacciatore di sogni”).

He currently teaches drums at the Nuova Accademia di Musica Moderna in Milan.