Armando Trovajoli

Pianist, composer, and conductor Armando Travajoli – born on September 2, 1917, in Rome, Italy – was a prolific artist best known for composing music for over 200 Italian films. His jazz soundtrack music was used by several top directors in his home country including Vittorio De Sica. Interested in music since childhood, he attended the music conservatory at St. Cecilia in Rome before working as a classical pianist. He transitioned over to jazz music when he began working with several local bands before forming his own jazz group in 1944. He continued his musical studies before graduating in 1948. He performed and recorded with several jazz formations – including trios – while also composing his own material. During this period, he also performed with jazz icons like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, Chet Baker, and many others. His first soundtrack work was for the films Bitter Rise (1949) and Anna (1951). Those films kickstarted a remarkable film composing career that lasted 50+ years included soundtracks to low budget and / or comedic films such as Uncle Was a Vampire (1959), Call Girls of Rome (1960), Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961), Marriage Italian Style (1964), Casanova ’70 (1965), God’s Own Country (1966), The Matriarch (1968), The Pizza Triangle (1970), Manhunt (1972), Scent of a Woman (1974), La Terrazza (1980), Frankenstein 90 (1984), and many others. Armando Travajoli’s best known compositions include “L’amore dice Ciao” (from 1968’s The Matriarch). He is also known for several ‘light music’ and jazz releases in the 1950s and 1960s, but his soundtrack work is what he is best remembered for. Armando Travajoli died on February 28, 2013, at the age of 95.

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