Lorenzo Feliciati

Lorenzo Feliciati is an Italian bass guitarist whose recordings often bridge jazz and prog rock. His many collaborative works include albums as a member of the bands Naked Truth and Wasabi. As a 14-year-old, the primarily self-taught musician was inspired to concentrate on fretless electric bass after seeing Jaco Pastorius perform live in 1982. By the age of 20, he was playing club shows around Rome while continuing to study fretless bassists such as Percy Jones, Mick Karn, and Pino Palladino. Feliciati self-released his debut album, Upon My Head, in 2003. It was reissued in 2005 by Schoots Records, which followed it with Live at European BassDay & More in 2006. In the meantime finding work as a session musician, touring musician, and instructor at prominent clinics, he formed the jazz fusion group Naked Truth with trumpeter Graham Haynes, keyboardist Roy Powell, and King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto. They released the LPs Shizaru and Ouroboros in 2011 and 2012, respectively, both on RareNoise Records. Cuneiform Records then issued 2012's Holy Abyss, a collaboration between Feliciati and guitarist Joel Harrison with Powell, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and drummer Dan Weiss. The bassist then moved to RareNoise for his solo work; they released Frequent Flyer later in 2012. The year 2014 proved to be a busy one, bringing Twinscapes with Colin Edwin and an album with Powell and drummer Maxx Furian titled Napoli. Calling themselves Wasabi, the trio of Feliciati (double bass), Alessandro Gwis (keys), and Emanuele Smimmo (drums) released Closer the same year. In 2015, Feliciati issued the ambitious Koi LP, a concept album with a full band and horn section that included Mastelotto. That year, Naked Truth also reconvened for their third LP, Avian Thug, which saw release in early 2016. Also featuring Mastelotto and Powell, 2017's Elevator Man included appearances by Vu, drummer Chad Wackerman (Banned from Utopia), and guitarists Mattias "IA" Eklundh and Marco Sfogli, among several other guests. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi