Jan 30 2026 to Jan 30 2026 7 p.m.

Where

Courtyard Koota

Ground floor, Good Earth Tarana Good Earth Malhar, near Rajarajeswari medical college Kambipura, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560074

Event Description

Event Details
Tickets will be out soon!

About Aquaphonica:

Acquaphonica is a contemporary jazz project led by Italian pianist and composer Federica Colangelo, conceived as a long-term creative laboratory where composition, improvisation, and cross-cultural rhythmic research converge.
The trio explores a personal musical language shaped by contemporary jazz, 20th-century Western music, and South Indian Carnatic rhythmic traditions, with a strong focus on form, texture, and collective interaction.
The current project, Forward, expands the trio format through the special participation of Carnatic percussion master B.C. Manjunath, deepening the rhythmic dimension and opening new perspectives on groove, time, and improvisation.

About the artists:

FEDERICA COLANGELO: piano, composition

Federica Colangelo is an Italian pianist and composer born in Rome. After studying classical piano at the Royal School of London, she moved to the Netherlands in her early twenties, where she continued her studies in jazz piano and later in contemporary composition.

During her years in the Netherlands, she founded Acquaphonica, a project conceived from the outset as a creative laboratory for her original music. With Acquaphonica she has released three albums of original compositions: Private Enemy (2012), Chiaroscuro (2016), and Endless Tail (2019). The fourth album, Forward, is forthcoming and will be presented in October 2025.

Her work is characterized by continuous exploration and experimentation, drawing from jazz improvisation and compositional practices, 20th-century European and American music (including influences such as Charles Ives, Philip Glass, John Cage, and Igor Stravinsky), and the rich rhythmic traditions of South Indian Carnatic music. These elements form the basis of her distinctive compositional voice.

Alongside Acquaphonica, Colangelo writes and arranges music for various ensembles. Notable works include Undecided (2010) for a 14-piece orchestra, composed during a close collaboration with Dutch composer Otto Ketting and later performed and recorded by the HKU Conservatory Youth Orchestra. In 2014 she arranged six traditional Bulgarian songs for string quintet, presented at the Apollonia Art Festival (Bulgaria). In 2016 she arranged her composition Graphic Work (from the album Chiaroscuro, Alfa Music) for the Civica Big Band, performed at Teatro Piccolo di Milano within the “New Generations” series.

In May 2024 she launched Advaita Crescendo, an international quintet formed in Amsterdam, bringing together Indian and Western musicians: veena virtuoso Dr. Suma Sudhindra, flutist and composer Ned McGowan, percussionist Karthik Mani, bassist Laurent Peckels, and Federica Colangelo on piano. The project blends European composition with Carnatic melodic, rhythmic, and improvisational concepts in the search for a shared musical language.

She is also active in the duo Timelines with vocalist Giulia Cianca, currently working on an album inspired by the life and writings of Joyce Lussu.

Since 2021, Federica Colangelo has been teaching Jazz Composition at the Conservatories of Campobasso and Udine.
Throughout her career she has collaborated with numerous internationally active musicians and performed at festivals and venues across Europe and India.

IGOR LEGARI – double bass

Igor Legari is an Italian double bassist, improviser, and educator based in Rome since 2011, where he is an active presence in the jazz and improvised music scene.

His trio ARBO, with Marco Colonna and Ermanno Baron, released its debut album in 2022 on Folderol Records, receiving widespread critical acclaim, including being cited among the best Italian jazz albums of the year. In March 2024 he recorded Something About It, the debut album of Fabrizio Sferra’s new quartet featuring Francesco Bearzatti and Giovanni Guidi, to be released by Parco della Musica Records.

Legari is a member of Ettore Fioravanti’s Opus Magnum, with which he has released two albums (Opus Magnum, AlfaMusic 2019; Attraverso ogni confine, Parco della Musica Records 2022). He is also part of pianist Francesco Negro’s trio, with whom he has recorded three albums between 2011 and 2022.

He collaborates extensively with composer Teho Teardo, both for film and fashion soundtracks and for live multimedia productions. Together with Susanna Buffa, he created the project Quando l’Anarchia Verrà, dedicated to libertarian songs of the 19th and 20th centuries, published in December 2024 by Kurumuny.

A founding member of the trio LUZ, he has toured extensively across Europe and recorded two albums for Auand Records. He has also been a key figure in the Roman improvisation collective Franco Ferguson.

Legari holds a diploma in Jazz Double Bass from the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome and a degree in Sociology. He has taught Jazz Ensemble at the Conservatorio “F. Morlacchi” of Perugia.

GIOVANNI NARDIELLO – drums

Born in 1995, Giovanni Nardiello began his musical journey at a young age, influenced by his father. He started his professional career at 16, performing in projects ranging from indie rock to pop, experiences that led him to open concerts for major Italian artists such as Marlene Kuntz, Thegiornalisti, and members of Afterhours.

In parallel, he began studying jazz in 2015, focusing on improvisation and contemporary languages. He studied with leading figures of the international jazz scene, including Gregory Hutchinson, Ziv Ravitz, Jim Black, Stefano Battaglia, and Ralph Alessi.

In 2021 he moved to Tallinn, where he studied Contemporary Improvisation at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and took part in masterclasses with artists such as Marc Ribot and Le Quan Ninh.

He has been involved in several award-winning projects, including the Alessandro Pennino Trio, which won the Val d’Agri Jazz Festival and recorded the album Memento (2019, WoW Records). His project Perspectives was a finalist at the Premio Isio Saba 2023.

In 2022 he released Kairi with the trio Triologic, featuring guest trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Currently based in Siena, he is working on his first album as a leader while collaborating with numerous contemporary jazz and experimental ensembles.

SPECIAL GUEST

B.C. MANJUNATH – Carnatic percussion

B.C. Manjunath is one of the leading exponents of South Indian Carnatic percussion of his generation. Trained within the traditional Carnatic system, he is internationally recognized for his mastery of mridangam and konnakol, as well as for his ability to engage in cross-cultural musical contexts.

Active both in India and internationally, he has collaborated with leading figures of Indian classical music and with musicians from the jazz and contemporary music worlds. His work is distinguished by a deep rhythmic sophistication, precision, and a strong sense of musical dialogue.

Within Acquaphonica – Forward, Manjunath’s participation expands the trio’s rhythmic framework, introducing Carnatic rhythmic concepts into an open improvisational context. His presence plays a central role in redefining time, groove, and interaction, contributing decisively to the project’s sonic identity.

*Tickets are mandatory for all.