PATRIZIA SCASCITELLI created a sensation in her native Italy when she broke through the glass ceiling to become Italy’s first prominent female jazz musician.  After conquering Europe with a remarkable run of concert and festival performances, recordings, and television appearances, pianist-composer Patrizia moved to New York City and quickly established herself as an in-demand pianist in the jazz capital of the world.

Patrizia’s career includes performances with Don Cherry, David “Fathead” Newman, Maxine Sullivan and others, and she has appeared in major jazz festivals, jazz clubs, and concert venues throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Her growing international reach is signified by the 2009 release in Japan of one of her previous records, Vedette (Nature Bliss Records.) “Patrizia is a marvelous melodist who presents her attractive lines with a distinct clarity and strong feeling,“ says veteran jazz writer and producer Ira Gitler.

The Patrizia Scascitelli Sextet recently released Open Window (Piloo Records.)  The band features flutist Jamie Baum, trumpeter David Smith, trombonist Andy Hunter, bassist Bob Bowen, and drummer Sylvia Cuenca.  The CD also features solo spots by saxophonist Ada Rovatti.  Open Window was named one of the best CDs of 2009 by Musica Jazz, the top jazz publication in Italy, which also has twice named Patrizia “Musician of the Year.”

The story of Patrizia’s meteoric rise to fame in Italy is the subject of a chapter in music critic W. Royal Stokes’ book, Growing Up With Jazz:  24 Musicians Talk About Their Lives and Careers.  Stokes has praised her “flair for composition, pianistic prowess, and skills of leadership,” and has called Patrizia “The Mary Lou Williams of Italian Jazz.”

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