Bruno Castellucci
Born in Châtelet (Belgium) to Italian parents, Bruno CASTELLUCCI, a self-taught musician, started playing drums at the age of 14 and quickly established himself as one of the most complete drummers in Europe.
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He is active both in the studio and on stage and has assimilated a wide variety of styles.
He has accompanied famous singers, he was the drummer for the Eurovision Song Contest 87, and above all, he is a remarkable jazz and fusion drummer.
1962: Wins first prize for drums at the Adolphe Sax Jazz Festival in Dinant.
He performs alongside the biggest names in Belgian and world jazz at the time, such as René THOMAS, Bobby JASPAR, Jacques PELZER and Francy BOLAND.
1963: Joins the Alex SCORIER Jazz Quintet. Plays with Slide HAMPTON, Art FARMER, Johnny GRIFFIN, Benny CARTER, Joe PASS, Phil WOODS, Niels H.0. PEDERSEN, George COLEMAN, Ian AKKERMAN, Clark TERRY,Philip CATHERINE, Tom SCOTT, Bobby McFERRIN, Jaco PASTORIUS, Airto MOREIRA, Lee KONITZ, Joe ZAWINUL, Walter NORRIS, Jiggs WIGHAM, Ferdinand POVEL, Tete MONTOLIU, Palle MIKKELBORG…
From 1970, recording sessions in studios in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Switzerland.
Recordings have been made with the artists mentioned above as well as with Freddie HUBBARD, Chet BAKER, Don MENZA, Tony SCOTT, Ack VAN ROOYEN, Judy NIEMACK, Tom HARRELL, etc…
1974 – 1980: Member of the BRT (Flemish radio) jazz orchestra.
Since 1974, he has been associated with Toots THIELEMANS with whom he has given many concerts and participated in several recordings.
1976: Represents Belgium as a soloist at the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland.
1977: Represents Belgium as a soloist at the Lublijana Festival in Yugoslavia.
1978: Soloist for the Nordring in Belgium.
Between 1977 and 1979, he is a member of the Ian AKKERMAN Band.
From 1980 he is also the drummer of one of the best big bands in Europe, the Peter HERBOLZHEIMER RHYTHM COMBINATION and BRASS, an international group based in Germany with which he recorded several albums and appeared very often on television.
He also played with the Bob MINTZER Big Band and the Count BASIE Orchestra!
Finally, he leads his own groups: in the 80s, a quartet with Peter TIEHUIS, Michel HERR and Michel HATZIGEORGIOU (CD “Bim Bim”), and more recently, Bruno CASTELLUCCI’s STRINGTET (CD “Towards the light”), a jazz quartet with a string quartet, and now a quintet (CD “Lost and Found”) with British and German musicians (Uli BECKERHOFF, Stan SULZMAN, John TAYLOR, Dieter ILG).
Recently, he has also played and recorded with, among others, Eric LEGNINI, Judy NIEMACK, Richard GALLIANO, Ivan PADUART, Philip CATHERINE, Joachim KÜHN, Anne DUCROS with Gordon BECK, Heinz VON HERMANN Quintet etc…
Bruno CASTELLUCCI has been teaching at the Brussels Conservatory since 1988.
He also taught at the Rotterdam Conservatory from 1985 to 1988.
Since 1986, he has also been teaching at the Brussels Academy of Music.
In addition to his regular teaching activities, he has also given workshops in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.
Bruno has appeared on television and his concerts have been broadcast in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Tunisia, Zaire, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Poland, the Czech Republic, Japan, Canada, the United States…
His discography is immense, and he has recorded many albums with big names in jazz.
For his 80th birthday, Bruno formed the group ‘Castellucci Legacy’, a quartet composed of Jean-François Prinz, Bo Waaterschoot and Vincent Bruyninckx. The result is an album in which each piece will be dedicated to people who have marked his career.
A book, signed Michel Mainil, is dedicated to him on the occasion of his eightieth birthday!
