“the whole of Europe on one stage“
Gottfried di Franco stands for a kaleidoscopical, meaningful and euphoric musical language. With their compositions saxophonist Stefan Gottfried and guitarist Gabriele di Franco create - besides through- composed passages - as much space as possible for the creativity and spontaneous joy of playing of the band members. The music reflects on their idols Wayne Shorter, Lee Konitz and Ralph Towner, their admiring fascination for impressionistic music and their vision on improvised music. Gottfried and di Franco combine their musical ideas, their visions as well as their stories which are being told out of the perspective of two young aspiring musicians who perceive the world with wide-opened eyes. The Austrian saxophonist and the Italian guitarist found their musical partners in the virtuosic Spanish pianist Raúl Santana, the extraordinary Brussels based bassist Diederik Billiet and the creative Portuguese drummer João Sousa. Five musicians - sparkling with creativity - whose roots couldn’t be more different, find each other to pursue a musical idea in developing the singular sound of this international ensemble. In 2018, Gottfried di Franco released their latest album So Far (Sena). Stefan Gottfried
Stefan Gottfried is one of the very top-tier saxophonists in Austria.
He studied at the Musik und Kunstuniversität in Vienna and at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague where he graduated from in 2017 with a Master of Arts. He studied under the guidance of master saxophonists John Ruocco, Andy Middleton, Toon Roos and Rolf Delfos. Stefan has been part of a large number of ensembles performing at major European festivals and venues such as North Sea Jazz Festival, Brosella Jazz Brussels, Bimhuis Amsterdam and Porgy & Bess Vienna. He shared the stage with among others Bob Mintzer, Bill Holman, Bert Joris, Luis Bonilla, Darcy James Argue and Andy Middleton.
The winner of the Marianne Mendt Jazz Award is expressing himself in his own musical projects and regularly tours Europe. stefangottfried.com Gabriele di Franco
guitar
Guitarist, composer and arranger Gabriele di Franco originates from Italy and lives in the Belgian capital Brussels.
Composing by inflecting composition techniques and concepts of Jazz and World Music traditions accompanied his musical development from the very beginning on.
Having graduated in Jazz Guitar from Conservatorio Nino Rota in Monopoli and from Musik- und Kunstuniversität Vienna he received his Master Degree in Jazz Composition from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels where he was studying with Kris Defoort, in 2018. He has been awarded at international competitions such as JazzComp Graz, Jazz Contest Bucharest and the International Sara Jazz Contest.
Gabriele is touring internationally in various musical settings. Since 2016 he is musical director of the Bud Powell Orchestra. gabrieledifranco.com Raúl Santana
piano
Madrid-born pianist Raúl Santana Saez de Ibarra discovered Jazz at the renowned Vitoria Jazz Festival where he was mentored by Fred Hersch.
After studying Classical Piano at the Conservatoire of Getafe, he graduated from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague in 2017, studying with Wolfert Brederode, Jurai Stanik and Eric Gieben. At the moment he is deepening his composition studies with Paul van Brugge at CodArts in Rotterdam. Raúl is part of several musical projects, expressing himself in diverse contexts. He shared the stage with among others Reinier Baas, John Ruocco and Eric Ineke.
He has been awarded at several competitions including the prestigious Prinses Christina Jazz Councours and the International Jazz Piano Competition Freiburg. Diederik Billiet
Bassist Diederik Billiet lives in his home city Brussels.
From his early childhood on he received lessons in Classical Piano before he discovered the double bass as his main instrument as well as his fascination for Jazz and Improvised Music at the age of 15.
Initially autodidact - he studied at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels with Bart de Nolf, Christophe Wallemme, Janos Brunel, Wouter Berlaer and Clemens van der Feen. In 2017 he received his Master degree.
Diederik is a versatile but very original bassist who has accumulated musical experience in a vast variety of musical settings. He has played in jazz formations of different sizes from Piano Trio to Big Band as well as being a demanded sideman in Soul and Funk projects. João Sousa
drums
Drummer and composer João Sousa originates from the Algarve and currently lives in the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
Having graduated with a Master degree from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where he was studying with Eric Ineke, João is an active part of Portuguese jazz.
Leading his own musical project Old Mountain, he is a very demanded sideman for top-class musicians including Gonçalo Marques, Demian Cabaud, Ben van den Dungen, Simon Rigter, Johan Clement and André Fernandes. joaosousamusic.com "Contemporary jazz with clear roots in history, that likes to be re-listened and thereby gains depth and expressiveness.“ - Jazz Flits
“Gottfried di Franco put together a well-constructed, intelligent album. It's beautiful!“ - Toon Roos
“Thank you guys, for the beautiful emotions!“ - Spectator in Bologna