Marco Porcu
Marco Porcu is an Italian guitarist, who is known for his works in jazz fusion and flamenco. Early life. Born in Milan, Italy, Marco developed a passion for music at a young age. He received his first guitar as a gift, at age 9, when he was enrolled into the Lainate Private School in Milan. While there, he studied both classical and contemporary music and was influenced by a variety of classical and modern artists. At age 17, he was introduced to the fire of flamenco jazz, as played by Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco De  Lucia, and to the passionate tango music of Astor Piazzola. By age 21, Marco was composing. Career. Active not only as a guitarist, but also as a composer and teacher, in 1993 he founded with Alberto Viganò the complex "Altus Karma", with which he took part in the same year in the festival "On the border between Sardinia and Jazz", sharing the stage with artists of the caliber of Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia. The CD of the same name "Altus Karma" was made in 1995 with the group itself. In 1996 he formed the Diatriba Quartet by  participating in the Sant'Anna Arresi Jazz Festival which included the participation of musicians such as Noa, Pat Metheny and Michel Petrucciani. In 1997 he took part in the recording of the Satie's Magazine album "Contrunti". From 1998 he began playing concerts as part of the project called 'Marco Porcu & MCM Ensemble', an experience that lasted for several years. In 2004 he performed in London and the United States, where he moved until 2005. In the same year he was recognized as the "Artist in Residence" by the Wichita Guitar Society on "... his exemplary and unique artistic and technical ability  in field of musical and compositional performance ". Back in Italy, he started a collaboration with Giovanni Prosdocimi, a violist, producer and arranger and also with Gianluigi Cavaliere, leader of Chantango, a band he joined in 2006, recording the album 'Bestiario d'Amore'. Around the same time, he collaborated with singer-author Marisa Sannia on a musical poetic project based on the lyrics of Garcia Lorca. The same year, he performed at the Sistina theater in Rome with the actor Orso Maria Guerrini and sharing the stage with Toquinho. In 2008, he was invited by the Music College of Wichita (Kansas, USA ) as the holder of the acoustic guitar chair. In 2011, his solo album Sciamano (Shaman) was released in the United States. The same year, at the Bologna Festival of the Arts, he ranked first in the instrumentalist category, earning the special prize "Piergiorgio Farina". In 2012 he performed in a recital for solo guitar as part of the "Summer Cloister" review in Parma, where he was also awarded the prize entitled "for having distinguished himself as a talented artist in the international arena". He is currently active as a teacher and concert performer, both as a soloist, in duo with  guitar and accordion and in his quintet as part of the 'MP Ensemble'. He is an endorser of Cordoba guitars.