il Pìcaro

BIO
Enrico Cerretti was born in La Spezia, Italy on April 11th 1975. Both of Enrico’s parents are huge music aficionados – his father a jazz and classical buff, and his mother a big fan of South American music. So as you can imagine, Enrico was exposed to a wide variety of music genres from an early age. His father states that Enrico would fall asleep to Schumann’s “Kinderszen”, and wake up to Carlos Gardel’s tangos.
As he got older, Enrico made the choice of learning to play the clarinet over the more popular sax, and at the tender age of 13 self taught himself how to play the instrument. He did this by listening to the hundreds of jazz albums in his father’s musical library over and over again.
At 16 Enrico tried studying with a classical music teacher but that didn’t last. He soon realized that he was more of a spontaneous player, treating his clarinet as his own inner voice and not merely as an instrument, thus building a lifelong resistance to music academics. His motto is that instruments are intended to be treated as the means, not as the end, for making music.
At 18 Enrico won a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, USA. So in the fall of 1994 he made the big move to the U.S. During his college years Enrico put together a wide array of bands and musical ensembles; performing locally in the Boston area. In addition, he was in studio recording extensively – producing and performing his own and others’ compositions. Aside from gaining extensive experience in those college years, Enrico was also able to meet and play with some pretty amazing people that he will always cherish.
After graduation Enrico, being akin to palm trees and Mexican food, followed a tradition of many Berklee alumni - headed off to LA. Hoping to hit it big in Hollywood’s notorious music scene, he immediately found work. Some of his first jobs were furniture mover, script courier, movie extra, and Italian diction coach….!
After finding his way around town he did eventually begin composing music for short films and local commercials. One of them was a project called “Pan dulce y Chocolate”; a little film from which a lot of great things happened. Aside from befriending some of the nicest and most interesting people in town, the project was screened at several international film festivals, including the prestigious Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, where it was shown at the famous Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. And it was also on Public Television (you can listen to the main title theme in the track list).
Eventually Enrico even landed the score for a feature film. But after many empty bottles of wine and cups of espresso, the project was never completed; the funding fell through, like so many Hollywood dreams. Nevertheless, Enrico, one never to lose faith in destiny, kept plugging away. He eventually began composing and producing tracks for some of the best music libraries in Los Angeles. To this day Enrico still receives world wide royalties for some of that music.
Throughout his stay in LA, Enrico also performed regularly at such diverse places as restaurants, Farmers’ Markets, and yacht clubs.
In 2001 Enrico produced an album made up of mostly original music titled “Tulum.” It is a collection of melodic compositions that showcase a variety of influences and flavors yet always maintaining a strong individual voice throughout. Enrico created a wide canvas of various colors and moods that takes the listener on an imaginary voyage around his world of music. “Tulum” was self produced and distributed. It received a bit of a buzz from some notable players in the music biz. One of the tracks was featured on the teen MTV show – Undressed. The album also got media coverage and airplay in Italy during the 2001 Summer Tour.
Another highlight from Enrico’s stay in LA was the work he did on Mexican teen icon, Imanol Landeta’s album “Sit tu supieras” released in 2001 by Fonovisa.
But a few parties later, Enrico decided to make the move back to his native Italy. So on May 2003 he bid adieu to LA with a final performance as the musical director for the closing night at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival Awards. Some of the well known personalities receiving an award that night were: Bill Conti, Asia Argento, Dante Ferretti, Paul Sorvino, and Joe Bologna.
After relocating to Italy Enrico and his brother Edgardo came up with a unique concept. The idea was for a multimedia project entitled “Sistema Pandora.” This software will enable musicians/performers to create a story with 3D Images in conjunction with their music in real time through the sounds of their instruments or voices. Four years later, after much hard work, the idea is now a reality and is being evaluated for possible investment opportunities as we speak.
Since arriving in Italy, Enrico has composed and produced music for such notable labels as: Warner Brothers Italy, Ecosound, RaiTrade, Watermusic, Deckdisc, Shake Records. A number of tracks from these productions have been featured and distributed on DVD and CD compilations on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the summer of 2005, Enrico worked with composer John Debney and orchestrator Kevin Kaska on the world premiere of the symphonic piece “The Passion Symphony” performed in Rome by the amazing "Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia" – a 200 piece ensemble of some of the finest musicians and singers in the world. It was a shear thrill being able to work with such an astounding group, which included flute magician – Pedro Eustache, and it was an opportunity to reunite with Kevin Kaska, a close friend of Enrico’s since those uncertain days back in Boston.
Today, Enrico, a gypsy at heart, once again finds himself on the move. His destination this time around is the beautiful country of Mexico, a place that has always been close to his heart. But before he flies away from his beloved Italia one more time, he is wrapping up his second album, "il Pìcaro", and he is shooting a music video on location in the Eternal City – Rome, for one of the tracks. And his official website is under construction as well.
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