Alberto Pinton
Saxophone & woodwinds
Born in 1962 and raised in Marghera, Italy, an industrial town on the mainland near Venice. After playing both piano as a child and guitar as a teenager, he bought his first alto saxophone at the age of 18, and that was when he decided to play music full-time. Alberto has since earned a bachelor’s degree in saxophone from Berklee College of Music in Boston (1990), a master’s degree in saxophone from the Manhattan School of Music (1995), New York, and a master’s degree in composition (jazz) from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (2023).
Three questions for Alberto Pinton
What are your musical inspirations?
– In the big band genre, Jim McNeely, Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer and Maria Schneider are big favorites. I also listen to a lot of contemporary art music. I write some of my own music and run my own projects in parallel with my position in the Bohuslän Big Band. I’m inspired by musicians like Tim Berne and Henry Threadgill; they are innovators and composers in improvised music.
How long have you played in Bohuslän Big Band?
“I started out by substituting in the big band in the late ’90s, which I continued doing for a few years. In 2005 I got a permanent position when the then baritone saxophonist retired.”
What is your best memory with Bohuslän Big Band?
– My best memories are the longer international tours we’ve done. Two tours to Japan and the tour to Israel.