Thomas Umbaca
BIO
Thomas Umbaca, born in 1997, was raised in Milan and lives in the city.
Since his childhood he has been dedicated and interested in composition and improvisation, two aspects that over the years have evolved into a single expressive language.
After classical studies at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, he attended Jazz piano courses where he studied with important figures of the Italian Jazz scene.
Despite his young age, he has had the opportunity to present for prestigious festivals and reviews including PianoCity Milano, Roccella Jazz festival, Armonie d’Arte Festival, at the Museum of the ‘900 in Milan, at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, for Monza Visionaria at Monza Park, at the San Carlo Hospital in Milan in a concert dedicated to the medical staff engaged in the fight against the Pandemic.
Participates with the Verdi Jazz Orchestra conducted by Pino Jodice in a concert for RAI dedicated to the Shoah and the music of Ennio Morricone.
He composes the soundtrack for the film “Miriam – il diario” by Monica Castiglioni (2015) and for the documentary “Il Terribile Inganno” by Maria Arena (2021), distributed by Amazon Prime Video and Infinity. His openness to different forms of expression led him to lend his music for contemporary dance performances and theater.
In 2019 he wins the Hermès Special Prize for Young Talent at the PianoCity Milano Competition dedicated to Renato Sellani, in which he participates with his own compositions and plays at the former Fabbrica Cova on the occasion of Biennolo. In 2021 he is the overall winner of the Lelio Luttazzi Prize in the category of young pianist composers at the Casa del Jazz in Rome.
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Umbaka
“UMBAKA is my last name, a particular sound that repeats in an endless rhythm, the one that has been with me since I first opened my ears – umbakaumbakaumbababaumbaumbakakaumba….
Actually there is a small difference, and it is the K instead of the C, but I am convinced that this is how it was originally spelled. The Phoenicians used the K as a symbol to indicate an open hand. In the decimal unit of measurement, the K multiplies the fingers and bodies on which I play, and that is where the image on the cover came from. Now this sound is no longer a registry and individual datum of mine, but comes out of me as an extension and is free to move.
UMBAKA is everyone and everyone’s, an immersion in a sound world that welcomes because it speaks of the humanity of which we are made and which we all know.”
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