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Francesco Crosara and Northwest Musicians Celebrate New Album in KNKX Studios

Pianist and composer Francesco Crosara (@FrancescoCrosara) led a quartet of top-tier Northwest musicians, celebrating his new album with the Italian native's new Northwest friends.

“I had the pleasure to basically see and interact with these giants at the kitchen table,” Crosara said, inspired by legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, and Duke Ellington who visited his family in Rome, Italy.

• Crosara was raised in Rome by a mother who introduced him to jazz music.
• He further developed his musical talent at USC in Los Angeles and later moved on to the Midwest and Hawaii before landing in Poulsbo, Washington, in 2017.
• Crosara joined the Music Discovery Center in Bremerton, where he played with young music students and had opportunities to support underserved music lovers of the Kitsap Peninsula.

The new album Circular Motion collects 40 years of Crosara’s compositions, from jazz fusion like “One Day Honey, One Day Onions” to songs that he's updated. The album visits Argentina with “Julia’s Tango,” Japan with “Kurama,” the Middle East with “Maktoub,” and Spain with “Preludio Flamenco.”

Circular Motion features three different sets of the Puget Sound area's best bass players and drummers:

1. The elder statesmen Clipper Anderson and Mark Ivester form Crosara’s “acoustic group,”
2. Farko Dosumov and D'Vonne Lewis make up his “fusion trio,”
3. Finally, Crosara's “world trio” features Osama Afifi and Xavier LeCouturier.

In this exclusive performance in the KNKX studios, Crosara was joined by Dosumov, Lewis, and saxophonist Alexey Nikolaev. Crosara even joked that if he had met him before recording Circular Motion, he would have formed a quartet instead!

Extended versions of three great tunes from Crosara’s new album show that his music is constantly changing, always connected to the moment he shares with his fellow musicians and audience.

• Musicians:
• Francesco Crosara - piano, keyboards
• Alexey Nikolaev - saxophones
• Farko Dosumov - bass
• D'Vonne Lewis - drums
• Songs:
• 0:00 Preludio Flamenco
• 8:57 Julia's Tango
• 20:48 One Day Honey, One Day Onions

AUDIO AND VIDEO:

• Audio: Brian Moynihan
• Video: Parker Miles Blohm

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KNKX Public Radio broadcasts from Seattle & Tacoma, Washington. Listen to us online at https://www.KNKX.org

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