Massimo Morganti

(trombonist, composer, arranger and conductor)

Graduated in trombone, composition and orchestration for symphonic band at the G. Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, after a period of study at the Berklee College in Boston with Phil Wilson, Jeff Galindo, Hal Crook and George Garzone, he started the Colours Jazz Orchestra, that became soon one of the best big band in Italy.

With this band he recorded five CDs, the first “Nineteen plus One” with Kenny Wheeler, the second “Quando m’ innamoro”…in Jazz, with italian songs from the sixties written by Roberto Livraghi, the third one “Home Away From Home” with the american composer Ayn Inserto, the fourth “ArrangiaMenti” with his own arrangements and Martin Wind, Joe La Barbera, Scott Robinson and Bill Cunliffe and the last one “Momenti”.

Since 1992 he has pursued an active performing career as big band conductor, lead trombone and sideman, playing in major jazz clubs, festivals and concert halls throughout Italy, Europe, South Africa, Colombia and Japan, collaborating with a lot of great jazz musicians like Kenny Wheeler, Bob Brookmeyer, Bob Mintzer, Mike Stern, Scott Robinson, Bill Cunliffe, Martin Wind, Joe La Barbera, Greg Hopkins, Maria Schneider, Ayn Inserto, Paul Mc Candless, WDR Big Band, Cyro Baptista, Fabio Zeppetella, Ramberto Ciammarughi, Massimo Manzi, Paolo Damiani, Marco Tamburini, Fabrizio Bosso, Javier Girotto, Gianluca Petrella, Gianluigi Trovesi, Cristina Zavalloni, Gabriele Mirabassi, Enrico Rava, Aldo Romano, Toninho Horta, Ronnie Cuber, Jack Walrath, Lewis Nash, Jay Anderson, Gil Goldstein, Steve Wilson, Ethan Iverson, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan, Jorge Rossi, Paolo Fresu and many others.

He i salso very active as an arranger and composer for big band and orchestra, his works have been played in many jazz and classical festivals around the world.
As a recording artist he has performed on over 70  jazz CDs.

He published three books for Volonté & co. “IMPRO(VE)! a practical guide for the jazz improviser, SPEAK!, the jazz articulation on the trombone and “ARRANGIATE(VI)!” a book on jazz arranging.
From 2005 he teaches jazz trombone and big band at the F. Venezze Conservatory in Rovigo.

Marta Giulioni

Marta Giulioni started with singing in 2013, after she studied classical guitar for a few years when she was 11. Then in 2014, she began to deepen the jazz language and she attended masterclasses and/or private lessons with Susanna Stivali, Diana Torto, Susanne Abbuehl, Jimmy Owens, Joey Blake, Leila Martial and others. She attended different summer camps, as the Rome Summer Feast, Siena Jazz Summer Workshop and the Arcevia Jazz Feast (2016) where she won a scholarship to study and perform in Cape Town for two weeks. She graduated in 2019 at the Conservatory of Pescara in a Vocal Jazz Master Degree with honors and special mention. The same year she went to Brussels for a traineeship at the KCB (Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) as assistant of the jazz singer and songwriter David Linx and, for just some lessons, to the pianist Diederik Wissels. Now, she is still studying composition with Massimo Morganti. 

She performs from 2015 in jazz clubs, jazz festivals with different formation, both in Italy and abroad. From 2017 to 2020 she was selected as a singer of the National Jazz Orchestra of Italian Conservatories, with whom she toured around Italy playing at the Pescara Jazz Festival, Area M, etc, and worked with worldwide renowned artists, as Fabrizio Bosso. In 2019/20 she won a project called “AIR: Artists in Residence”, sponsored by MIDJ (Musicisti Italiani di Jazz) and promoted by SIAE and different Italian Embassies or Italian Cultural Institute around the world. She won a residence in Paris, but due to COVID it was postponed until this October: there she will be host of the Italian Cultural Institute of Paris and she will perform at some Jazz Festivals organized by Cultural Institute itself. 

Mirage Jazz Orchestra

Mirage jazz orchestra actively announced itself in January 2004. It was founded by jazz music artists – trombonist Lauris Amantovs and saxophonist Deniss Paškevičs.

The best jazz musicians play in the orchestra:

Trombonist Lauris Amantovs – he is also the artistic director of the orchestra

Raivo Stašan – saxophone

Indričis Veitner – saxophone

Zintis Žvarts – saxophone

Artūrs Sebris – saxophone

Gints Stepānovs – trumpet

Normunds Piesis – trumpet

Jānis Amantovs – trumpet

Oleg Švembergs – trombone

Egils Šketris – trombone

MIRAGE JAZZ ORCHESTRA actively performs concerts at various jazz festivals around the world, regularly participates in various TV shows (e.g. “Music Bank”, etc.) and radio broadcasts, thanks to its versatile activity, opportunities to offer music of various styles, it has become an integral part of the musical life of our country .

Today we can safely say – it is one of the most professional jazz orchestra in the Baltic States!

Leader of the Mirage Jazz Orchestra – Lauris Amantovs