


Informed by the players’ light-hearted virtuosity and their love of blending digital sounds and analogue timbres, the group displays a depth of imagination which satisfies the heart as well as the ear.
Ferdinando Romano - bass
Federico Calcagno - clarinet
Valentin Gerhardus - piano
Evita Polidoro - drums
A project of Italian bassist Ferdinando Romano’s, Invisible Painters blends double bass, piano, drums and bass clarinet with synthesisers, samples and ambient recordings.
The image of the invisible painters symbolically represents the gesture of artistic creation, the unconscious and instinctive impulse it generates, the invisible hand and brush with which the improviser creates extemporaneously. It is precisely in this balance between awareness and instinct, composition and extemporaneity that the music of this new group is born, making use of the nuances of timbre that acoustic instruments, synthesizers, samples, field recordings and instruments’ preparation generate in enriching the improvisational palette.
“Invisible Painters reveals an alluring depth of imagination and virtuosity from Ferdinando Romano and his fellow musicians. The recording techniques used are fascinating, and the resulting album revels in wonderful originality. An album well worth checking out, by an assured artist with a very bright future ahead of him.”— UK VIBE (UK)
Ferdinando Romano has an intense activity live and in studio, especially in the contemporary and avant-garde jazz scene, collaborating as a sideman and as a leader with many musicians like Ralph Alessi, Enrico Rava, Robin Eubanks, Benny Golson, Alexander Hawkins, Glenn Ferris, Logan Richardson, Elias Stemeseder, Jerome Sabbagh, Yuhan Su, Ben Van Gelder, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Tom Ollendorff, Marc Michel, Brandon Allen, Kirke Karja, Veli Kujala, Tino Tracanna, Maurizio Giammarco, and many more.
In the Top Jazz 2023, the critics' poll held by the magazine Musica Jazz, he won major awards, placing second in the Musician of the Year category, his new album Invisible Painters in third place among the Albums of the Year and the group in fourth place among the Ensembles of the Year. With the previous album Totem feat. Ralph Alessi, Romano had won numerous awards such as 'Best New Italian Talent 2020' in Musica Jazz’s Top Jazz and the SIAE Award 2021.
As a composer, some of Romano's orchestral and chamber compositions have been played in festivals. In particular the composition for string quartet Madrigale LXI has been played in the festival Art of this Century, dedicated to music whose scores where damaged by the Florence flood in 1966, recreated and completed by some composers to be presented in a contemporary way. The orchestral composition I Tetti della città, inspired by Claude Debussy's music, has been played in the Youth Orchestra Festival in Palazzo Vecchio in Firenze. He also worked as a musician and composer with theatre companies participating in many recordings and productions for Rai (Italian Radio and Television) and Radio Televisione della Svizzera Italiana (soundtracks of film tv, musicals and radio-tv programs).
Invisible Painters perform at 12 Points 2024 on September 26th at 21:30. Click here for tickets!
Invisible Painters are supported by Italia Music Export and WeStart Productions at 12 Points 2024.


More About this Artist
P. Cozzi, Mescalina“This music effectively combines the strong and very personal imprint of Romano’s creativity with excellent group interaction. There is someone who still believes that one can try to write the invisible with notes, and this is certainly very good news. ”
S. Cerini, Musica Jazz“A fantastic album, pulsating and alive, with a sincere international vocation. ”
Concerto Magazine“High cleverness in the writing and an extraordinarily expanded sound palette. Romano makes extensive use of counterpoint and works with several overlapping lines that are both melodically and and rhythmically exciting. ”