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Michel Petrucciani

Piano virtuoso Michel Petrucciani was born on December 28th 1962 in Orange France to Italian parents. He grew up surrounded by music as his father was a guitarist and his brothers were a bassist and a guitarist. He discovered the piano very young and one of his early influences was Duke Ellington. Because he was born with osteogenesis imperfecta; a condition that stunts growth and causes fragile bones and respiratory disorders, he had to have special extensions made for him to reach the pedals of the piano. The condition did not affect his hands, however, and he was able to study classical piano for 8 years. He gave his first professional concert at age 13 at the Cliousclat Festival where he was discovered by Clark Terry. Terry introduced him to a number of expatriate jazz musicians and this encouraged the young Petrucciani to embrace jazz as a musical idiom rather than classical music. At age 16 he met drummer Aldo Romano who was impressed by the teenager’s musical prowess and took him under his wing and 2 years later helped him launch his recording career with Flash. Petrucciani recorded a number of excellent albums for the French label Owl including a duet with Lee Konitz. In 1981 he performed at the Paris Jazz Festival and caused a sensation.

In 1982 he moved to the US and was introduced to Charles Lloyd. The latter was so impressed by the pianist that he helped him launch his American career. During this stay he met and married his first wife Erlinda Montaño. The marriage lasted 3 years. During he stay in the US Petrucciani had the opportunity to play with lot of the giants of jazz including Dizzy Gillespie. In 1986 he became the first Frenchman to sign a contract with the legendary Blue Note label. In 1990 he married classical pianist Gilda Butta with whom he had two children. This marriage also ended in divorce in the late 90s. He spent the 90s touring Europe and recording for Dreyfus Records. Near the end of his life he was trying to establish a jazz school in Paris.

In 1994 he was made a knight of the French Legion of Honor.

On January 6th 1999 Michel Petrucciani passed away of a severe pneumonia in Manhattan. He had recently celebrated his 36th birthday.

The posthumously released Solo Live remains his best work and a powerful testament to his genius and enduring legacy.

Michel Petrucciani: Kuumbwa

Read "Kuumbwa" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
April 18, 2026

Michel Petrucciani's Kuumbwa is the type of release that reminds us why live jazz recordings still matter. This is not a vault-cleaning exercise, nor just a historical note. Recorded at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California, in 1987, it is now released by Elemental Music, first as an exclusive two-LP Record Store Day set, with CD and digital editions to follow. This excellent recording captures Michel Petrucciani in one of his most exciting trio settings, alongside longtime drummer ...

Album Review

Michel Petrucciani: Kuumbwa

by Jack Kenny
April 16, 2026

Recorded live on May 11, 1987, at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in jny:Santa Cruz, California, this album catches pianist Michel Petrucciani during an inspired phase of his career. It was not his first visit to the venue. While living in Big Sur--about an hour south of Santa Cruz--Petrucciani had befriended saxophonist Charles Lloyd, who was on a hiatus from music. Encouraged by the young French pianist, Lloyd gradually resumed playing, eventually forming a duo with Petrucciani that performed at the ...

Interview

Giancarlo Velliscig - Direttore Artistico di Udin&Jazz

by Neri Pollastri
June 20, 2017

Un passato di cantante nell'ambito della musica popolare, etnica e di ricerca (che oggi torna a frequentare in rare ma sentite occasioni), un presente di padre che segue con emozione i progressi dei propri eredi (il figlio Alessio è da poco il nuovo cantante di Quintorigo), Giancarlo Velliscig è il direttore di Euritmica, associazione culturale udinese che organizza tra gli altri Udin&Jazz, di cui è ideatore e direttore artistico. All About Jazz: Udin&Jazz raggiunge quest'anno la ventisettesima edizione, ...

Album Review

Michel Petrucciani: The OWL Years

Read "The OWL Years" reviewed by Maurizio Zerbo

by Maurizio Zerbo
April 7, 2016

Magistero tecnico, swing, cuore palpitante sono i tratti caratteristici di questo cofanetto, che di Michel Petrucciani)) mette a nudo le pieghe espressive più recondite. C'è il mondo evansiano sostenuto dalla cantabilità mediterranea, per proiettare la tradizione jazzistica lungo i sentieri di una magniloquente fantasia esecutiva. Svetta l'incedere lirico e trasognato di un artista inimitabile, che appartiene alla ristretta schiera di jazzisti per i quali la musica è sinonimo di poesia. Un genio del proprio strumento, che affronta con souplesse esecutiva ...

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Film Review

Non-Stop Travels With Michel Petrucciani/Trio Live in Stuttgart

by Jerry D'Souza
May 21, 2008

Michel Petrucciani Non-Stop Travels/Trio Live in Stuttgart Dreyfus Records 2008

Michel Petrucciani celebrated life. It was a short one (he died when he was 36 of a pulmonary infection), but he lived it to the brim. Jazz was his passion, which he shared through his numerous recordings and concerts. He also had a sense of humor that could be zany and irreverent.

Petrucciani is the focus of the documentary Non-Stop ...

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Film Review

Michel Petrucciani: Non Stop Travels / Trio Live in Stuttgart

by Budd Kopman
January 21, 2008

Michel Petrucciani Non Stop Travels/Trio Live in Stuttgart Dreyfus Records 2008 The phenomenon that was pianist Michel Petrucciani (b. December 28th, 1962, d. January 6th, 1999) is brought to life by this double-feature DVD from Dreyfus Records. Containing the hour-long documentary (Non-Stop Travels With Michel Petrucciani) that aired on many PBS television stations and a concert performance (Michel Petrucciani Trio: Live In Concert) in Germany, this wonderful DVD brings clarity to ...

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Album Review

Michel Petrucciani: So What: The Best of Michel Petrucciani

Read "So What: The Best of Michel Petrucciani" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
July 4, 2004

Michel Petrucciani left his mark on straight-ahead jazz. This compilation from previous albums demonstrates clearly that the pianist was in command when he explored the realm, both as a gentle balladeer and as a swinging musician who worked hard at his craft and connected well with a great number of like-minded artists in the jazz community.

The albums represented on this compilation were recorded between 1992 and ’98. It was in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, ...

Advocacy

In Support Of Music For Love, Son Of Michel Petrucciani Speaks About 'Cantabile 2.0'

Source: Katrina Yang
May 28, 2021

Earlier this year, Music For Love released a charity project entitled Music For Love Vol. 1. The opening track “Cantabile 2.0” by Fabrizio Bosso and Pablo Nannucci, aka Roc Flowers is inspired by the late great jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani “Cantabile.” “Cantabile 2.0" adapted modern hip-hop texture on top of existing melody ideas, drawing influences from jazz standards and funk. Soon after its release, the tune received support from Michel Petrucciani’s family. Alexandre Petrucciani, the younger son of the jazz ...
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Recording

Blue Note Records Reissues Two Michel Petrucciani Albums

Source: All About Jazz
September 12, 2002

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Music Industry

Boxed Set (Concerts Inedits) from Michel Petrucciani and Richard Galliano

Source: All About Jazz

Dreyfus Records Presents Two New, Unprecedented 'Live' 3-CD Sets From Jazz Masters Michel Petrucciani and Richard Galliano

Renowned for its commitment to presenting musical artistry in full flower, Dreyfus Records proudly announces the release of two unprecedented 3-CD boxed sets, one each from late pianist Michel Petrucciani and accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano, and both entitled Boxed Set (Concerts Inedits), to be released September 12. The collections feature the jazz masters in three different contexts--performing solo, as part of a duo ...
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