Andrea Vicari

About Andrea

Pianist and composer Andrea Vicari was born in Miami (Florida) and grew up in Birmingham (England). Educated at Cardiff University she won a scholarship to study at The Guildhall School of Music in London.

Recent performances have been the 2 piano Steinway jazz festival at the Pizza Express Dean St and the Ipswich Jazz festival with the all female band led by Andrea called the ‘Jazz Ambassadors’ featuring rising star Emma Rawicz on saxophone and vocalist Paola Vera. Andrea has appearanced at Teignmouth jazz festival with ‘The New Jazz Extempore band’ with trumpeter Yazz Ahmed and played at Ronnie Scott’s as part of the Jazz piano trio festival. Performances outside the UK have included China, Croatia, Italy, France, Holland and Bulgaria. Andrea has also played with jazz legends Eddie Harris, Art Farmer and appeared at Glastonbury festival.

A prolific composer, with 7 albums under her own name, she has been commissioned by the Arts Council, Trinity College Publishing, the BBC, ABRSM, Jazz Umbrella, the Peter Whittingham trust, Lyth Arts (Scotland); and completed a setting of the poetry of A.E Housman for the Ludlow festival, released on the CD New Perspectives. Other projects include The Leasowes Bank festival ; ‘Women in Jazz project’ held at the ‘Hideaway Jazz Club’ during the London jazz festival; Scoring the Chet Baker “Speedball” musical and co-composing a new musical 'The Austerity Playbook' – Andrea’s latest work is a musical about the history of Women’s football ‘110%’ - currently in development.

Andrea works at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance as a senior jazz lecturer on the jazz course and is musical director of her own Jazz summer in the Dordogne (Dordogne Jazz Summer School) now in it’s 20th year. Andrea recently gave a masterclass at Chicago University of Illinois and is an ambassador for NYJO. Previous engagements include judging the UNISA (University of South Africa) jazz piano competition and the Nottingham International Jazz piano competition.