- artist
- Tullio de Piscopo
Tullio De Piscopo (born 24 February 1946, Naples, Italy) is an Italian drummer and singer.
Known for one unique style mostly centered around a "warm" approach with the instrument and of a fluid roll, he is one of the most popular and respected Italian drummer in the world.
He now teaches Drums at NAM (Nuova Audio Musicmedia) in Milan.
De Piscopo is the son of an orchestra drummer. In 1969 he moved to Turin and two years later he moved to Milan, where he began a successful career as drummer for several popular artists, including Gerry Mulligan, Ástor Piazzolla, Aldemaro Romero, Gato Barbieri, Mina, Lucio Dalla, Fabrizio De André, Pino Daniele, Manu Chao and others.
Between the 1970s and 1980s, De Piscopo played on several occasions with bassist-arranger Pino Presti, with whom he established one of the top rhythm sessions in the Italian music scene. In 1974 and 1975, he was a member of New Trolls Atomic System.
He also wrote scores for several movies. His most successful song is "Andamento lento", which won Festivalbar in 1988. Outside Italy, he became famous for his 1983 hit single, "Stop Bajon (Primavera)". It reached No.58 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1987. His song "Radio Africa" was a collaboration with the singer Mory Kanté.
He collaborated with several artists such as Max Roach M'Boom Re Percussion, Quincy Jones, Chet Baker, Pantaleon Perez Prado, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Bob Berg, Don Cherry, Gil Evans, Sal Nistico, Wayne Shorter, Slide Hampton, Billy Cobham, Kay Winding, Gato Barbieri, Vinicius De Moraes, Toquino, John Lewis, Buddy DeFranco, Massimo Urbani, Astor Piazzolla, Eumir Deodato, Don Costa, Stéphane Grappelli, Alphonso Johnson, Bob Brookmeyer, Nanà Vasconcelos, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Richie Havens, Mike Melillo, Dave Samuels, Dado Moroni, Franco Cerri, Enrico Intra, Guido Manusardi, Mario Rusca, Sante Palumbo, Stefano Cerri, Gianni Basso, Renato Sellani, Massimo Moriconi, Giorgio Azzolini, Luciano Milanese, Giancarlo Barigozzi, Aldemaro Romero, Giovanni Fenati, Roberto Fabbriciani, Mina, Adriano Celentano, Lucio Dalla, Manu Chao, Shirley Bunnie Foy, Guido Pistocchi, George Aghedo, Al Bano Carrisi, Franco Battiato, Fabrizio De Andrè, Enzo Jannacci and others.
In 1986, in the popular TV program Fantastico (Rai 1) he played with Billy Cobham in a "Drum Contest" which was very popular and is still famous today.
From the beginning Tullio de Piscopo has been a versatile artist, used to insert himself in the most various contexts, more interested in the public than the genre or style and always aimed to involve and to reach his audience. His contagious talent and his passion make him a natural teacher.
A prominent feature of his artistic style is the attention to the melody and sound.
He took part in and shared almost all of the fashion waves and musical genres in Italy and he often contributed with originality leaving his personal mark.
He is the "guru" of Italian drummers.
