Antonio Forcione

Antonio Forcione
Antonio Forcione during the International Guitar Foundation & Festivals London Guitar Summit 2015 Contemporary Acoustic course at Kings Place
Background information
BornMolise, Italy
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1990s–present
LabelsNaim
Associated actsEduardo Niebla, Adriano Adewale
Websitewww.antonioforcione.com

Antonio Forcione is an Italian jazz guitarist.

Early life

Forcione was born in a village on the Adriatic shore of Molise in southern Italy. He first toured Italy at age 13 in the 1970s.[1] A few years later he obtained a diploma in art and sculpture from the Art Institute in Ancona where he also studied percussion. For a further two years he studied harmony and mime in Rome, before moving to London in 1983. Unable to speak English, made money by busking in the streets of Covent Garden in London. Within two months he had won an award which led to a BBC television appearance. He was the opening act for the rock band Barclay James Harvest on a European tour, culminating in a concert at Wembley Arena.

Career

He has worked with Bobby McFerrin, Phil Collins, Jools Holland, Zucchero, Pino Daniele, Charlie Haden, John McLaughlin, Trilok Gurtu, Steps Ahead, Leo Kottke, Biréli Lagrène, and Eduardo Niebla. Other groups have included the Antonio Forcione Quartet and duos with Brazilian percussionist Adriano Adewale. He performs in AKA, a trio with Seiku Keita and Adriano Adewale.

Forcione collaborated and toured with comedians such as Boothby Graffoe, Django Edwards, Stephen Frost, Tanderika, and Ursus & Nadeschkin. Between 1992 and 1996 he performed with, and was musical director for, the award-winning musical flamenco comedy group Olé.

Forcione is also a composer, and most of the pieces performed are his own. His compositions show influences from African and the Latin American countries interwoven with classical, flamenco, and Indian rhythms.

Awards and honors

He won Best Spirit of the Fringe Award at the Edinburgh Festival with a resulting tour of Australia, doing both straight music and music-comedy. Other awards include the Award for Excellence in Adelaide, the Premio Enriquez in Italy for musician of the year, and the Premio Internazionale di Cultura Re Manfredi. Reviews of his albums have included his being dubbed "21st century 'Jimi Hendrix' of acoustic guitar".[2]

Discography
  • Light & Shade with Eduardo Niebla (Sol, 1984)
  • Eurotour with Eduardo Niebla (Sol, 1985)
  • Celebration with Eduardo Niebla (Venture, 1987)
  • Poema with Eduardo Niebla (Jazzpoint, 1992)
  • Dedicato (Naim, 1996)
  • Acoustic Revenge (Naim, 1997)
  • Ghetto Paradise (Naim, 1998)
  • Meet Me in London with Sabina Sciubba (Naim, 1998)
  • Vento Del Sud with Benito Madonia (Naim, 2000)
  • Live! (Naim, 2000)
  • Touch Wood (Naim, 2003)
  • Tears of Joy (Naim, 2005)
  • Heartplay with Charlie Haden (Naim, 2006)
  • In Concert (Naim, 2007)
  • Sketches of Africa (Antastic, 2012)
  • Compared to What with Sarah Jane Morris (Fallen Angel/Antastic, 2016)
  • Joy with AKA Trio (Bendigedig, 2019)

References
  1. Fordham, John (12 December 2013). "Antonio Forcione – Review". The Guardian.
  2. Josh Jennings (16 August 2012). "Antonio Forcione: Sketches Of Africa". Jazz Shaped. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
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