Turrisi, a multi-instrumentalist, left his native Italy in 1997 to study jazz piano and early music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he obtained a Bachelor and a Master’s degree. Since 2004 he has been collaborating with celebrated early music ensemble L’Arpeggiata. With l’Arpeggiata he has performed at the major early music festivals in Europe and around the world (Turkey, Russia, China) and has recorded for Virgin, Naive and Alpha. He regularly collaborates with Italian traditional singer Lucilla Galeazzi and with Irish ensembles Yurodny (balkan music/contemporary jazz), The Gregory Walkers (early music), Resound (contemporary music), eX ensemble (early music). Turrisi has also toured with New York avant-garde ensemble Bang on a Can.

Francesco is the leader and founder of “The Taquín Experiments” an ensemble that pushes the boundaries of contemporary jazz, world music and early music. He has released four critically acclaimed albums as a leader and two as co-leader (Tarab and Zahr) on Diatribe records and on his own label Taquin records.

His latest album “Grigio” features Sean Nos singer Róisín El Safty, early music singer Clara Sanabras and percussion virtuoso Zohar Fresco. The album was described as “Lyrical, sensitively assembled and beautifully sung” by John Fordham in a review for The Guardian

His vast range of collaborations includes artists from jazz, world and early music such as:

Bobby McFerrin, Dave Liebman, Gianluigi Trovesi, Nils Landgren, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Barry Guy, Gabriele Mirabassi, Savina Yannatou, Maria Pia de Vito, Theodosii Spassov, Gavin Bryars, Bang on a Can, Misia, The King’s Singers, Veronique Gens, Philippe Jaroussky, Pepe el Habichuela, Lucilla Galeazzi, Bijan Chemirani.

Previous IMC Collaborative Performances

Francesco Turrisi featuring Róisín Elsafty

Savina Yannatou, Barry Guy & Francesco Turrisi