Fabio Morgera
Trumpet

Was born in Napoli, Italy. At age three he lost his left hand in an accident. He was first introduced to music in public school, and at age 12 he invented a device that enabled him to play guitar and electric bass in a left-handed fashion. Three years later, encouraged by his friend, bassist Raf Palumbo, and driven by his love for Louis Armstrong and traditional jazz, he switched to trumpet and subsequently joined the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. Later, he played with Eurojazz (a.k.a. the European Community Youth Jazz Orchestra) and Giorgio Gaslini's Octet. In 1982 Morgera led his own quintet to win second prize at the First Leverkusen Competition for Newcomers. Morgera moved to New York City in 1990, where he played with his own band at Birdland and Visiones. He also began to take part in N.Y.C.'s Acid Jazz movement and was a founding member of Groove Collective. Morgera made his first record, Take 1 (featuring George Garzone), in 1998 and has since released several other albums including five that he has self-produced, including Slick, New Hopes and the most recent, Colors. Morgera has studied with Vince Penzerella, Donald Byrd and Valery Ponomarev; he has toured and recorded with Alvin Queen, Goodfellas and the R&B star Maxwell; and played at jazz festivals throughout the world. In addition to his work with Urban Tap, Morgera performs with his own futuristic band Junglejazz, the Mingus Big Band and Brooklyn's Quintet X.

www.fabiomorgera.com