Jazz musician Giorgio Gaslini dies at 84

(ANSA) - Parma, July 29 - Composer, conductor and pianist Giorgio Gaslini, a pioneer of modern Italian jazz, died on Tuesday aged 84.
    Born in Milan on October 22, 1929, Gaslini was one of the most original musicians on the European jazz scene. In Italy he played a fundamental role in popularising Afro American music and worked to see the style acquire formal recognition from institutions.
    His jazz courses - held first at Santa Cecilia in Rome in the early 1970s and in Milan a few years later - paved the way for the teaching of a genre that had previously been considered elite in the country's music conservatories.
    Meanwhile, in the 1970s and 1980s Gaslini's music formations served as a stage for new talent such as saxophonist Massimo Urbani (1957-1993) to emerge.
    A musical trendsetter, Gaslini successfully blended methods of musical composition typical of the 20th century - especially twelve-note composition devised by the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg - with improvisational practices typical of jazz.
    He theorised this widely encompassing musical style as 'total music', which is also the title of one of several books that carry his name. His aesthetic vision also contemplated the coexistence and interaction of different languages of expression such as music, dance, and theatre, as testified by his numerous symphonic works, operas and ballets composed for performance at La Scala opera house in Milan and other major Italian theatres. Gaslini worked with great names in Free Jazz including Steve Lacy, Don Cherry and Ruswell Rudd and he played and recorded with Italian experimentalists such as Mario Schiano, Gianluigi Trovesi and the Instabile Orchestra.
    His career included some 4,000 performances in 60 countries and approximately 100 jazz and contemporary music CDs.
    He also composed over 40 movie soundtracks including the music for the film 'La Notte' directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.
    In 2002, Gaslini received a gold medal from Italy's then-President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in recognition of his contributions to culture and art.
    He died in hospital in Parma after being admitted around a month ago as a result of a fall.