NEWS

NEW ALBUM OUT SOON

I am happy to announce that I will soon be releasing my fifth album as a leader. The album, entitled "Last Night When We Were Young " will be out PJU records in January 2021. This album features a duo with Vincent Bourgeyx and a trio with Yoni Zelnik and Antoine Paganotti. This is my first standards album and it was masterfully recorded, mixed and mastered by Alban Sautour. We will be playing at Sunset/Sunside on February 18th 2021 to celebrate this release. This record was made possible through the generous help of Arts Council Malta - Malta Arts Fund.

MORE LIGHT, SCRIABIN, STANDARDS....

Thanks to all those who came out to "More Light 4tet"  shows in Porgy and Bess (Austria), Chorus (Lausanne), Le Phénix (Valenciennes), Théâtre Jacques Le Coeur (Bourges), L'Osons Jazz Club (Lurs) etc.. Check out the upcoming dates on the Gigs section including the 'Scriabin in jazz' project premier at The Three Palaces Festival. 2020 will be an exciting year featuring also a new trio project... more details coming soon.

TEASER / EPK "MORE LIGHT"

Check out the MORE LIGHT teaser here.  MORE LIGHT  quartet is Sandro Zerafa on guitar, Yonathan Avishai on piano, Yoni Zelnik on bass and Lukmil Perez Herrera on drums. David Prez features on saxophone on 3 tracks. The album was released in 2017 on the jazz&people label.

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MORE LIGHT can be purchased here :

→ Amazon: http://amzn.eu/dEd06Xa ←
→ iTunes: https://itun.es/i67d28T ←
→ Fnac: http://bit.ly/MoreLightFnac ←
→ BandCamp: http://bit.ly/MoreLightBC ←
→ Qobuz: http://bit.ly/MoreLightQobuz ←

MUSIC

VIDEO

'Nowness'

live at Le JAM, Marseille, December 2018

w/ Yonathan Avishai/ Yoni Zelnik / Lukmil Perez

'Fear of Falling'

Warsaw Summer Jazz Days 2014

w/ Laurent Coq / Matyas Szandai / Fred Pasqua

'BullFrog'

Studio de l'Ermitage, 2013

w/ Laurent Coq / Olivier Zanot / Yoni Zelnik / Fred Pasqua 

ABOUT

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Sandro was born in Malta in 1975. His first guitar teacher was Tony Pace. He pursued classical guitar studies with Charlotte Smith and later enrolled in the music course at the University of Malta, graduating with Honours in 1997. The Malta Jazz Festival, created in 1991 by Charles Gatt, was an important inspiration for Sandro. He started gigging in Malta with Nicky Doublet, Bernard Scerri, Charles Gatt amongst others. Moved to Lyons in 1998 and studied at the Lyons Conservatory with Mario Stantchev and Jean-Louis Almosnino. Graduated with a medaille d’or and DEM in 2000. He moved to Paris in 2000 where he has been living since then. Sandro quickly became active on the Parisian jazz scene.

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His first group featured trombone player Sebastien Llado and won 3rd prize at the La Defense National Jazz Contest. With alto saxophone player Olivier Zanot and drummer David Georgelet he formed the group The Jaywalkers (winning a Mention Speciale for Composition at the La Defense Contest). The Jaywalkers was augmented to a quintet with the addition of Yoni Zelnik and David Prez (a companion from the conservatory days). The first recording by the White Russian 5tet was awarded a DISQUE D’EMOI by JazzMagazine.

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His second album as a leader, URBAN POETICS (PJU recrds) featured Laurent Coq on piano, Yoni Zelnik on doublebass and Karl Jannuska on drums. Urban Poetics received considerable critical acclaim. In 2014 Sandro released his third album as a leader - THE BIGGER PICTURE (PJU records) featuring Fred Pasqua on drums, Olivier Zanot on alto sax, Yoni Zelnik on bass and Laurent Coq. Critics described this album as a milestone in Sandro’s output. Sandro is a founder member of the jazz collective / record label Paris Jazz Underground, together with guitarist Romain Pilon and saxophone player David Prez. He is also a great lover of Brazilian music and has collaborated with notable Brazilian artists such as Marcia Maria, Catia Werneck, Aline de Lima and Sergio Krakowski. He often collaborates with singer Jiji and has also contributed to the arrangements of her albums. 

Sandro has recorded 15 albums as a sideman and his new album ‘More Light’ is scheduled for release in January 2017 on the French label jazz&people. It features Yonathan Avishai on piano, Yoni Zelnik on bass, Lukmil Perez on drums and David Prez on saxophone. He has collaborated with artists as diverse as Nico Gori, Francesco Bearzatti, Chico Buarque, Manu Katché, Stjepko Gut and Laurent Coq. He has performed extensively in Italy, Malta, Belgium, Morocco, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, S.Korea, Canada, France and the UK. He is artistic director of the Malta Jazz Festival since 2009.

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ALTERNATE BIOGRAPHY

Born in Malta in 1975. After several years of classical guitar studies, Sandro found himself inadvertently in a musical limbo, during which he was listening to Sonic Youth, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Miles Davis at the same time. Following this post-adolescent crisis he consecrated himself to jazz. Was traumatised by a John Scofield performance at the Malta Jazz Festival. A period ensued where he painfully dismembered jazz standards on the island of Malta, in search for an ‘identity’.

After graduating with Honours in Music from the University of Malta he moved to Lyons - capital of the tripe sausage. Started gigging, discovered Ornette Coleman, ate more tripe sausage. Graduated with a medaille d’or in jazz guitar from the Lyons Conservatory and in search of further mental desequilibrium he moved to Paris, where he’s been living since then. 

Won several awards at successive editions of La Defense National Jazz Contest, and has been very active on the local jazz scene. Sandro can be heard with his own quartet, Nico Gori European 4tet, Robin Nicaise 6tet, Decaphonic Orchestra, Fabio Accardi Band. When not playing guitar he can be spotted jogging in Vincennes park in another vain attempt to reduce weight.

Sandro never quit loving Heitor Villa Lobos - he is in fact an in-demand accompanist in Brazilian music projects. He has worked with singers Aline de Lima, Catia Werneck, Marcia Maria, Johanne Sayada and pandeirista Sergo Krakowski. Sandro is still in search of an experience equalling that of drinking caipirinhas at sundown in Ipanema.

Sandro has toured in France, Belgium, Italy, S.Korea, Brazil, Switzerland, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Turkey etc. He still hasn’t figured out how to attain his financial goals, but he has learnt how to make a good porcini risotto. 

SHOWS

DISCOGRAPHY (leader/co-leader)

White Russian 5tet (2008)

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Sandro Zerafa - guitar

David Prez - tenor sax

Olivier Zanot - alto sax

Yoni Zelnik - bass

David Georgelet - drums

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY (sideman)

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JOEL HIERREZUELO - ASI DE SIMPLE

Joel Hierrezuelo - vocals / guitare

Pierre DeBethmann - piano, Rhodes

Felipe Cabrera - bass

Lukmil Perez Herrera - drums

Sandro Zerafa - guitar

Nicolas Folmer - trumpet

Naissam Jalal - flute

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Contact 

(PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS EMAIL FOR ANY MALTA JAZZ FESTIVAL RELATED REQUESTS !)