Sandro Cerino

The classical tradition has been fused with jazz improvisation and hook-laden pop by multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and big band director Sandro Cerino. His past projects include an interpretation of Vivaldi's Four Seasons performed with his group the Crescendo Big Band, an album featuring re-workings of tunes popularized by vocalist Daniela Panetta, and theatrical collaborations with poet Ariele D'Ambrosio at Teatro Semaforo Verde. Together with Assaxination, the eight-saxophone band he formed in 1993, Cerino performed at the internationally broadcast Festival of the Sassofono and recorded the imaginative album The Strange Case of Dr. Saxyll and Mr. Eight three years later. The son of a musician, Cerino learned to play a lengthy list of instruments as a child. Moving to Milan in 1982, he worked as an arranger of musical shows, including Mi Rifaccio Il Trucco and Bum Bum All'Italiana, and films, including The Crew. In addition to directing a big band on television and at festivals, he worked with such bands as Six Mobiles and Atypical Trio. An early supporter of electronic instrumentation, Cerino was the first Italian musician to use a saxophone MIDI.