SANTI SCARCELLA

Biography

Born in Messina, Italy, Santi Scarcella began writing melodies from a very early age. At the age of eight, he started studying piano with Maestro Franco Galeano.
By thirteen, he had already embarked on an intensive period of songwriting, discovering a natural affinity for the craft that continues to define his artistic journey today. During those years, he also composed a modern four-part Mass, theatrical productions, works for Big Band, film scores and advertising music. His curiosity led him to embrace multi-instrumentalism, studying guitar, accordion, drums, percussion, saxophone and violin—an approach he describes as a calling toward a comprehensive understanding of music.
In 1999, he graduated with distinction in Economics and Business Administration. Despite several professional opportunities outside music, he chose to continue his studies in composition and piano, gradually moving closer to jazz.
In 2004, he earned a diploma in Jazz Piano and Modern Orchestration from the Civic Music Schools of Milan, studying under renowned musicians and educators including Enrico Intra, Franco Cerri, Maurizio Franco, Paolo Birro and Fabio Jegher.
In 2008, he completed his Second-Level Academic Diploma in Jazz with highest honors at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, where he studied with Rita Marcotulli, Paolo Damiani and Vincenzo Caporaletti. In 2022, he concluded his formal training by obtaining a Second-Level Academic Diploma in Classical Piano Performance under the guidance of Maestro Giuseppe Miseferi.
Today, Scarcella is a tenured music educator within the Italian public education system and teaches Pop/Rock Piano and Keyboards at the Donizetti Conservatory in Bergamo.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated and performed alongside artists such as Steve Reich, Joe Lovano, Andrea Mingardi, Stefano Di Battista, Lucio Dalla, Giovanni Baglioni, Israel Varela, Scott Reeves, Paolo Damiani and Marisa Laurito, as well as accompanying performers including Gegè Telesforo, Renzo Arbore, Fiorello, Gianluca Guidi and Fiordaliso. He was also among the artists selected to perform for Pope John Paul II during World Youth Day 2000.
As a bandleader, he has performed in prestigious venues including Teatro Manzoni in Milan, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome—where he achieved two sold-out concerts—Blue Note Milano, Roccella Jazz Festival, Sicily Jazz Festival in Palermo, the Falcone Borsellino Amphitheatre in Zafferana Etnea, JazzUp Festival in Viterbo, Palacultura in Messina and the iconic Piazza San Giovanni concert stage in Rome.
Scarcella has also appeared on Italian television, including programs on TV2000 hosted by Lucia Ascione and Grazia Serra, and on Rai 1’s TV7 hosted by Adriana Pannitteri.
His research on late nineteenth-century Italian emigration and its role in the birth of early jazz in New Orleans was recognized by the University of Connecticut (UConn), which invited him to deliver lectures and concerts in the United States.
His discography includes several original projects, beginning with Demo (1998), followed by Roma Mosca Londra New York, the opera Ciuriciurijazz, Swing Siciliano, Da Manhattan a Cefalù, Sacra in Jazz and the recent jazz trio recording Santi Giorgio e Gegè, created with Giorgio Rosciglione and Gegè Munari for Filibusta Records.
Scarcella is currently working on a new recording project entitled Zattere nel Mare, featuring Nicola Costa on guitar, Puccio Panettieri on drums and Francesco Luzzio on bass. The album is scheduled for release in 2025, preceded by the music video for Cabbasisi, filmed in Assisi and dedicated to Saint Francis. The piece reflects a search for spirituality and a deeper dimension of life, themes that resonate strongly in Scarcella’s artistic vision.
For Scarcella, music is ultimately a vehicle for beauty. Being selected by IMARTS, the agency founded by Maestro Franz Cattini—historic manager of Franco Battiato and known for its commitment to artistic excellence—is, in his words, “a gift from Heaven.”
His artistic development has been shaped by time, curiosity and a desire to explore multiple styles and genres. At the same time, he remains deeply committed to teaching, dedicating a significant part of his life to passing on what he has received. Among his students are Gian Marco Pia, a highly functioning Asperger musician, and one of Italy’s most successful contemporary artists, Niccolò Morriconi, known professionally as Ultimo.
According to Professor Scarcella, both share the same profound need to express themselves through the non-verbal language of music—a language that ultimately has one universal denominator: sound.