"Giotto Roussies comes from a family of artists and is himself a true artist as a jazz pianist!
His stylistic range is extensive, from stride to bebop to avant-garde, no form of expression is foreign to him.
His piano sound is magical, he sings and swings and every note has a meaning! He sometimes shows a downright satie-esque humor and whenever I hear him, I immediately have a smile on my lips because every note touches me.
Giotto is one of the few who really cultivate the art of being in the moment, in music as well as in life. To hear him makes me happy!" - HUBERT NUSS
NEW ALBUM OUT NOW!
Giotto Roussies- Piano/Komposition
Torben Schug - Bass
Eddie Jensen - Drums
Awash with a subtle and harmonious interplay of colours and tones, one could think that these three musicians have been playing together all their lives. This is almost true: Giotto and Eddie grew up and took the first steps of their musical careers together. Torben, who later joined them in their studies in Amsterdam and Cologne, fits effortlessly into the musical space, giving creative impulses and weaving a dialogue with Giotto’s meandering arcs of tension on the piano.
The trio ties in with jazz tradition, offering their own original compositions and interpreting jazz standards skillfully and unpretentiously. The result is a rich palette of moody beauty, with alternating storms and calm, anchored in a constant sense of well-being.
“With admirable ease, the Giotto Roussies Trio have joined the ranks of great artists… self-confident and natural, with the infinite lightness of play…”- GAG Imobilien Kulturkirche Köln Ost
BIOGRAPHY
Education
Giotto has had lessons with Aaron Parks, Achim Kaufmann, Hubert Nuss, Jim Black, Franz Hautzinger, Frank Gratkowski, Phil Markowitz, Russ Lossing, Jakob Anderskov, among others.
Concert highlights
He shared the stage with international jazz greats such as:Johnny Griffin, Antonio Heart, Mark Ducret, Anthony Braxton, Jonathan Kreisberg, Zé Eduardo, Matt Pennman, Clarence Penn, among many others.
Jazz Festivals
Valencia Jazz Festival (Spain) , Festival de Jazz do Sao Luiz (Lisbon, Portugal), Pontejazz(Pontevedra, Galicia), Festival de Jazz de Loule(Portugal), Maccau Jazz Festival(China)
Jazz Clubs
Hot Club de Portugal, Unterfahrt, Jazzclub Reutlingen, Stageclub Hamburg, A Train (Berlin), Bflat (Berlin), Schlot (Berlin), Jazzschmiede Düsseldorf
Competitions
2006 Finalist at: New Generation Award Straubing
2011 Convento Jazz Award
2014 International Piano Competition in Memoriam Waldi Heidepriem, Freiburg.
The pianist Giotto Roussies was born and raised in an artists' commune in Vienna. As a child, he traveled extensively throughout Europe.So it happened that he received his jazz education in Portugal with jazz maestro Ze Eduardo who supported him and started his career as a pianist at the early age of 14.
Even before his studies in Cologne, he toured Europe with the Baby Jazz Band, where he also worked as a composer and arranger. He also played extensively in Portugal as a sideman in many projects and formations.
From 2007-2012 he studied jazz piano in Cologne and graduated with top grades. Since then giotto lives in Cologne, plays concerts and realizes projects.
In 2014 he was a part of the teachers faculty teaching Jazz Piano at the Macau Jazz Festival (China).
Since 2015 he has a regular gig at the Piano Bar at the Airport Cologne/Bonn where he presents the traveling people with his music.
In 2019 the debut album of his sextet "Reaching for the Intangible" was released on the Cologne label Klaeng Records.
For 2023 his second Album "Quero Allegria" is released on the same label, this time in the formation of the jazz trio.
PAST RELEASES
"Dreamlike pictures of experiential Landscapes combined with the density of abstract elements, experimental jazz and free improvisations. The possibilities of this rare instrumentation are beautifully explored and merge into a unique band sound"
Giotto Roussies- Piano/Composition
David Helm - Double Bass
Ramon Keck - Drums
Elisabeth Coudoux - Viloncello
Heiko Bidmon - Bass Clarinet
Lennart Schnitzler - Trumpet
"His improvisations are playful. Like a river of cascades, one emerges from the other. Emerging moods invite us to forget thinking and to surrender to this flow.
Sometimes lingering in silence on a chord, sometimes being carried away by a stream of phrases and arpeggios, the wave of feeling and tonal premonitions culminates in a swinging melody or a bluesy groove that says: "I am here - there I am!"