Paolo Fresu於1961年出生於意大利萨丁尼亚岛，80年代初跑去义大利中部的Siena参加爵士乐研习课程，在哪里遇到了他的老师兼偶像Enrico Rava，随后小号演奏技巧突飞猛进，不消几年便成为意大利爵士圈子里最活跃的乐手之一。Fresu的小号音色听来疏离飘邈，这是受到Rava的影响，当然也是来自Miles Davis的啟发。而说到了Fresu的活跃，截至目前20多年的演奏生涯里曾参与过超过130张以上的专辑录音，他现在也是当年Siena爵士研习课程的指导老师，每年更有超过一半的时间住在法国参与各大爵士音乐节演出，音乐领域横跨前卫与传统爵士，甚至电子与融合音乐的世界里也得以见其踪迹，确实活跃。其音乐呈现出一种后现代但线条分明的轮廓，五重奏多年来合作所建立起的默契都在里面，充满深度却不难理解的演奏，值得聆赏
by Francesco Martinelli
At the beginning of the '80s, trumpeter Paolo Fresu attended the Siena Summer Jazz Seminars and amazed Enrico Rava with his creativity, talent, and technique. Over the next ten years, he became a major player on the Italian scene, first with his own quintet (which is still going), then branching out in a variety of projects. After finishing his Conservatory studies, he became a teacher at the same Jazz Seminars in Siena; he lives half the year in Paris, from where he coordinates the major Time in Jazz Festival he created in his hometown. His discography numbers an astonishing 130 titles since he's been invited to play all over Europe in a variety of projects, from contemporary music to straight jazz, from dance to jazz/folk fusions.
His style is based on the classic Miles Davis sound of the '50s, and the very lineup of his quintet is reminiscent of Davis' group, with excellent tenor Tino Tracanna. They mostly play originals and the music flows fresh and engaging, never a mere imitation. Live in Montpellier (1990) and Ossi di Seppia featuring Gianluigi Trovesi, both on Splasc(h), are good representations of the different facets of the group; Shades of Chet is an affectionate tribute with Rava on Label Bleu (2001) featuring new piano talent Stefano Bollani. Sonos 'E Memoria (ACT 2001) and Metamorfosi (BMG 1999) are respectively inspired by Sardinian musical heritage and European classical Richard Strauss, their success being proof of his commitment to an open musical aesthetic. In addition to Fresu's quintet, he played in an unusual duo with bassist Furio di Castri, this became the PAF trio with the addition of Antonello Salis on piano and accordion, and another trio with English pianist John Taylor (Contos, Egea 1995), while his European quartet includes French-Vietnamese guitar player Nguyên Lê (Tales From Viêtnam, ACT, 1995).