Marco Pignataro

Marco Pignataro is a multitalented saxophone player, composer, and educator originally from Bologna, Italy. He has shared stages with artists such as Eddie Gomez, Joanne Brackeen, Danilo Pérez, George Garzone, and Terri Lyne Carrington, among many others.

Pignataro performs and tours internationally with several musical groups, including the Marco Pignataro Almas Antiguas Quartet and the Eddie Gomez Quintet, which is featured in the widely acclaimed CD Per Sempre (BFM Records). Pignataro’s CD, Sofia’s Heart, was also produced by jazz legend Eddie Gomez and features Pignataro’s compositions and arrangements. His last recording for Zoho Records, Almas Antiguas, features a stellar band including Gomez on bass, Alan Pasqua on piano, Adam Cruz on drums, and Garzone on tenor saxophone. The music is evocative and powerful, blending modern jazz with shades of Mediterranean, folk, and Latin influences, and very lyrical melodies throughout the album.

Pignataro was the director and cofounder of the Jazz and Caribbean Music Department, and was the chair of the Jazz Saxophone Department at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. He was also a board member of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), the president and founder of the IAJE chapter in Puerto Rico, and a faculty member at the University of Veracruz International Summer Jazz Seminars. His column, "Style and Influence," was regularly featured in the quarterly magazine Jazz Improv. Pignataro serves as the artistic director for the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival and as its educational adviser for the humanitarian foundation, Fedujazz, using music as a tool for social change. He's a D’Addario Woodwind Performing Artist and endorser for Applied Microphone Technology Wireless System, EGR Ligatures, and Mauriat and Lupifaro saxophones.