About
Biography
Maurizio Nicotra © 2014-2024 | Designed and created by Alessandro Nicotra | Text by Jessica Nicotra
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Maurizio Nicotra is an italian sound engineer and producer. He was born in Catania on April 23rd, 1965. At 12 he began to play the clarinet and he was admitted to the conservatory “Vincenzo Bellini” of Catania; at the same time he was studying electronics engineering.
At the end of the 70s he was the saxophonist in a cover band that performed in the most important pubs of Sicily. This collaboration led him to explore his passion for the voice: in the rehearsal room of the group, had been set up a small recording studio where they created albums of all kinds of music, a laboratory that enabled him to gain the experience that, combined with a passion for music and electronics, leaded him to realize his professional activities and then to become a sound engineer.
So he started to work in different historical studies of recording and sicilians audio service.
At 18 years he graduated in electronics engineering and 19 years in clarinet. In 1984 he began his career in audio engineering doing sound mixing for an important recording studio in Catania. The studio belonged to Tony Ranno, a member of Beans, an italian group that had great success in the 70s and 80s (the song “Come pioveva” remained in the top of the italian charts for many months). During the 80s this recording studio with state-of-the-art equipment, was well known because it created a winning combination along with the “Festival della nuova canzone sicialiana”, great television event for Sicily initially presented by Pippo Baudo (inside the singing event there was a section dedicated to young proposals in which also competed a young Mario Biondi).
In addition to producing and recording the albums, he was the clarinetist and the saxophonist of the Festival orchestra conducted by Nino Lombardo.
In 1995 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for “Esperanto”, tour of the sicilian singer Rosario Di Bella. Always in 1995 Franco Anfuso, a friend guitarist and arranger who was working in the recording studio of Tony Ranno, introduced Maurizio to the great record producer of Catania Francesco Virlinzi, still regarded as the emblem of cultural renaissance of Catania in the 90s.
Maurizio began working with Francesco and the same year he started a long collaboration with the singer Carmen Consoli (ended in 2004), becoming her sound engineer (F.O.H. and studio), arranger and artistic producer of her album.
In 1998 he works on pre-production of the Consoli’s album “Mediamente Isterica” and in 1998/1999 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for “Mediamente Isterica Tour". After there were many live events of promotion.
In 1999 he recorded and collaborated on artistic production of the first album of the italian singer Moltheni “Natura in replay” for “Cyclope Records”, the independent label founded by Virlinzi (the song “Nutriente” from the same album, partecipated in the Sanremo Festival in 2000). Also in 1999 he mixed live sound for Moltheni’s tour “Brand New Tour” of MTV.
In 1996 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Consoli’s first tour “Due Parole Tour” and for all promotional events including his first partecipation at the concert “Primo Maggio” in Rome. In 1997 he mixed live sound for Carmen Consoli’s tour “Confusa e Felice Tour”. In the same year he recorded and mixed the acoustic/live version of the songs “Venere” and “Confusa e felice” (included on “Venere”, single from the album “Confusa e felice”) and the acoustic/live version of the song “Fidarmi delle tue carezze” (included on “Uguale a ieri”, single from the album “Confusa e felice”).
In 2000 he arranged and recorded the album “Stato di Necessità” by Carmen Consoli; he also played clarinet on songs “L’Epilogo” and “Orfeo” (the track “In bianco e nero” from this album, partecipated in the Sanremo Festival in 2000). With the album “Stato di Necessità” Maurizio Nicotra earned a double platinum record (Italy). The same year he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Carmen Consoli’s tour “Stato di Necessità Tour”. In 2001 he recorded at Studio Plus xxx in Paris two tracks from the album “Stato di Necessità” translated into French and a cover of Serge Gainsbourg made with the artistic production of Henri Salvador; these songs were included on “État de necessité”, the French version of “Stato di Necessità”. The same year he recorded and mixed at “Metropolis Recording Studio” in Milan the song “Saluto l’inverno” by Paola Turci, also collaborating on artistic production (the song was presented at the Sanremo Festival that year); in the summer of 2001 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for the tour of the trio Max Gazzè - Paola Turci - Carmen Consoli.
During the same year he mixed live sound for the theater tour in acoustic session by Carmen Consoli and then he produced with her the concert - event held on July 15th, 2001 at Ancient theatre of Taormina with the participation of the Orchestra of “Vittorio Emanuele” Theater in Messina conducted by Paolo Buonvino. The event was produced, live recorded and mixed by Maurizio Nicotra for the the album and DVD live “L’anfiteatro e la bambina impertinente”. With this album Maurizio Nicotra earned a platinum record (Italy). This event was repeated twice more: November 28th at the auditorium of the “Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia” in Rome and December 1st at social center “Leoncavallo” in Milan. The same year, together with Carmen Consoli, he founded the label “Due Parole” and also created a mobile recording studio which main objective was to obtain sonority particulary related to a vintage sound. After, the label produced and released the first album of the band La Camera Migliore (2003).
In 2002 he produced, arranged, recorded and mixed the album “L’eccezione” by Carmen Consoli (he also played clarinet on songs “Mulini a vento” and “Carmen”). With this album Maurizio Nicotra earned a double platinum record (Italy). In 2003 he produced, arranged, recorded and mixed the album “Carmen Consoli” (international version of the album “L’eccezione”) which inclued: a rock version of “Can’t get you out of my head” by Kylie Minogue, the english translation of the tracks “Matilde odiava i gatti” and “Fiori d’arancio” and also two songs in english “Ain’t that romantic” and “Lord of the oceans”. The same year he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for “L’eccezione tour” and then he produced, arranged and recorded the live album “Un sorso in più - Dal vivo a MTV Supersonic” by Carmen Consoli, recorded at MTV studios on 22nd and 23rd October, 2002 on the occasion of the “L’Eccezione” album preview. Also in 2003, he mixed live sound for Carmen Consoli's “European Club Tour” in the most important european clubs (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, England, France, Switzerland and Spain).
In March of 2004, he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Carmen Consoli on the occasion of: his participation at the “South by South West Festival” in Austin (Texas), his first exhibition in New York and his performance in May at “We Are The Future”, humanitarian event held in Rome, produced by Quincy Jones and broadcasted around the world on MTV. Also in 2004 he produced, recorded and mixed the cover of “Stranizza d’amuri” interpreted by Carmen Consoli included on the album “Voli imprevedibili - Tributo a Franco Battiato”.
Next he continued touring as F.O.H. sound engineer for various italian and international artists and mixing live sound for a lot of live events. He also became a music broadcast engineer for tv shows.
In 2004 he collaborated with Lorenzo “Jovanotti” Cherubini on pre-production of his album “Buon Sangue”. From that moment he began to cure as F.O.H. sound engineer the sound for his live tour (“Buon Sangue”, “Safari”, “Ora”), promotional events and festivals. In 2005 he was the F.O.H sound engineer for all the promotional events of the album “Buon Sangue” by Jovanotti - including perfomances in the most important european festivals (“Nuke Musikfestival” in Austria, “Gurtenfestival” and “Gampel Open Air Festival” in Switzerland, “Tollwood Festival” in Munich, “Neapolis Festival” in Naples, etc.) and in “Live 8” concert (organized by Bob Geldof and held may 31 in Rome) - and for “Buon Sangue Tour 2005”. Also in 2005, he produced, recorded and mixed some tracks of the group Melidia led by singer-songwriter Andrea Gioia; among these songs, there was the single “Grida” by Andrea Gioia which was included on the album “Summer Hit Compilation 2006” produced by Radio Italia.
The following year, he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Jovanotti’s tour “Buon Sangue - Tour LivEstate 2006” and the relative performances in the major european festivals (“Szget Festival” in Budapest, “Nuke Festival” in Austria, “Rock Oz'Arènes” and “Gampel Open Air Festival” in Switzerland, etc.) and recorded, mixed and artistically produced “La chiave del sole” the first album by the singer Micol Barsanti, released in 2007 and preceded by the single “Entra nel cuore”. The album was produced by the label of Jovanotti “Soleluna” and realized at the “Karakorum” recording studio in Cortona by Pedali Musicali (Maurizio Nicotra, Riccardo Onori, Saturnino Celani, Gianni Maroccolo, Marco Mazzei and Leonardo Fresco). Also in 2006, he mixed live sound for many concerts of the singer Irene Grandi including her participation in the opening ceremony of “World Fencing Championships” held in Turin in Piazza San Carlo on September 30th.
In 2006 and 2007 he was the F.O.H sound engineer for some concerts of the singer Mario Venuti. In 2007 he produced, recorded and mixed at “Officine Meccaniche” recording studio some songs in unplugged version by Irene Grandi (included in his double album “Irenegrandi.hits”) and he mixed live sound for the tour “Time Out” by Max Pezzali. In 2008 he mixed live sound for “Safari Tour 2008” by Jovanotti and in october for “Australian Tour 2008” by Eros Ramazzotti (Sydney, Melbourne and Perth).
In February 2009 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for the first american concerts of Jovanotti at the Highline Ballroom and Le Poisson Rouge in New York.
In the month of August 2009 he mixed live sound for the opening ceremony of the Donbass Arena stadium in Donetsk in Ukraine (which was attended by several national and international stars like Beyoncé) and in September 2009 for Tiziano Ferro in the foreign tour dates of “Alla mia età Tour” (Romania, Canada and United States). Also in 2009 he mixed live sound for the Rai television show “L’anno che verrà - 31 dicembre 2009”.
In May 2010 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for “Ali e Radici World Tour” by Eros Ramazzotti in Latin American countries with concerts in Mexico (Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mexico City), Venezuela (Caracas), Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo and a concert in North America (Miami).
In 2010 he was the music broadcast engineer for the Rai television show “Ti lascio una canzone” - 4th edition presented by Antonella Clerici, also recording and mixing the live recording project “Ti lascio una Canzone quarta edizione”. The same year he was the music broadcast engineer for the Rai television show “24 Milavoci” presented by Milly Carlucci and for the Rai television show “L’anno che verrà - 31 dicembre 2010”.
In 2011 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for the musical “The Mission - Heaven On Earth” in Seoul (South Korea) - with music by Ennio Morricone - and for the tour “Ora Tour” by Jovanotti (continued in 2012). Also in 2011 he recorded and mixed “Ti Lascio una canzone 2011”, the album of the 5th edition of the Rai television show “Ti lascio una canzone”, and mixed live sound for the opening ceremony of 2011 “World Championships of fencing” (October 8th). In december of the same year he was the music broadcast engineer for the Rai television show “Mettiamoci all’opera”. He also produced, recorded and mixed the debut album of the group of Catania Gill&Co.
In 2012 he was the music broadcast engineer for the Rai television show “Un poeta per amico - Massimo Troisi” presented by Enzo Decaro, with the orchestra conducted by Stefano Di Battista, and the music broadcast engineer for the musical TV show “Radio Italia Live - Il Concerto” (held on occasion of the 30th anniversary of the radio).
In the summer of 2012 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Riccardo Cocciante for the two concerts-event “Cocciante canta Cocciante” that were held in Rome (Caracalla) and in Taormina with the “Orchestra Nazionale delle Accademie di Musica” conducted by Leonardo De Amicis. He was also the music broadcast engineer for the Rai television show “Amore e Perdono - Love and Forgiveness” (Assisi).
Furthermore the same year he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for “4th Hip Hop Tv B-Day Party” (on September 25th) and after the music broadcast engineer for the Rai television shows “Omaggio ai grandi artisti” presented by Massimo Giletti (four episodes: “Caro amico ti scrivo...”, about Lucio Dalla; “Penso che un sogno così...”, about Domenico Modugno; “Emozioni...pensieri e parole” about Lucio Battisti; “Per sempre Mia”, about Mia Martini). In the summer of 2013 he mixed live sound for concerts-event “Cocciante canta Cocciante” (that were held in Pisa, Palermo, Taormina and Torre del Lago) with the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonardo De Amicis. In the same year he was the F.O.H. sound engineer, together with Fabrizio Bacherini, for the musical event “Gianni Morandi - Live in Arena” held at the Arena of Verona on 7 and 8 October; Morandi was accompanied by the band and, for the first time in his history, by an orchestra of 100 young musicians conducted by Leonardo De Amicis.
Since September 2013, together with Franco Finetti, he mixed live sound for the second part of “Amo Tour” by Renato Zero that, after the enormous success, continued in 2014 with a third party renamed “Gran Finale”. Also in 2013 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Dire Straits Legends’ italian tour. Since February 2014 he mixed live sound for Claudio Baglioni's tour "Con Voi tour" and in May of the same year for Dire Straits Legends’ italian tour. Also in 2014 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Claudio Baglioni’s tour "ConVoi ReTour".
In May 2015 he mixed live sound for Fiorello’s tour "L’ora del Rosario" and in September he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for Claudio Baglioni and Gianni Morandi’s tour "Capitani Coraggiosi". Furthermore he was the music broadcast engineer for the television event "Capitani Coraggiosi" held at Centrale Live of Foro Italico in Rome on October 6th and 7th, broadcast on Rai 1.
In 2016 Maurizio mixed live sound for "International Tour 2016" by Dire Straits Legacy. Two premiere events were staged in Rome on February 4th and in Milan on February 7th.
Since February 2016 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for the tour "Capitani Coraggiosi" by Claudio Baglioni and Gianni Morandi.
Also in 2016 Maurizio, together with Franco Finetti, mixed live sound of "Alt Arena, arrivo!" by Renato Zero, 3 concert-event which was staged at Verona Arena on June 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Since November 2016 Maurzio Nicotra, together with Franco Finetti, was the F.O.H. sound engineer of "Alt in Tour" by Renato Zero. In May 2017 Maurizio mixed live sound for "Brazilian Tour" by Dire Straits Legacy in Brazil.
Since July 2017 Maurizio, together with Franco Finetti, mixed live sound of "ZEROVSKIJ... solo per amore" by Renato Zero. The premiere event was staged at Foro Italico in Rome on July 1st.
In October 2017 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for "Noi qui" by Claudio Baglioni, concert-event presented by Paola Saluzzi in Lampedusa, on the occasion of the fourth “Giornata della Memoria e dell'Accoglienza”. Baglioni was accompanied by the "Banda della Polizia di Stato" with the "Coro Giuseppe Verdi" of Rome. In January 2018 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for "Brazilian Tour 2018" by Dire Straits Legacy. In the same year he mixed live sound of "Arena Al Centro" by Claudio Baglioni, 3 concert-event which was staged at Verona Arena on September 14th, 15th and 16th. Since September 2018 Maurizio was the F.O.H. sound engineer of the US tour by Dire Straits Legacy.
Since October 2018 Maurizio mixed live sound for "Al Centro" by Claudio Baglioni. The tour ended in April 2019. Also in 2018 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for "European Tour 2018" by Dire Straits Legacy. In 2019 Maurizio, together with Daniele Tramontani, was the F.O.H. sound engineer for “Radio Italia Live - Il Concerto”, 2 concert-events in Milan and Palermo.
Maurizio mixed live sound for "Zero il Folle in Tour" by Renato Zero, from November 2019 to late January 2020.
In February of the same year, he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for "U.S.A. and Brazilian Tour” by Dire Straits Legacy, suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Afterwards the first italian lockdown, he mixed live sound of the event "Grazie a nome di tutti" with Claudio Baglioni and the "Banda della Polizia di Stato", a special thank to doctors and health workers, held at Piazza del Viminale in Rome on July 11th. In early 2021 he collaborated on the realization of a Claudio Baglioni's project at Rome Opera House: “In questa storia che è la mia”, a contemporary-symphonic-pop-rock opera, released from the eponymous studio album of the artist, which streamed on ITsART platform since June 2nd. In August of the same year, Maurizio mixed live sound, together with Lorenzo Tommasini, for the musical events held in L'Aquila on the occasion of “Perdonanza Celestiniana 2021”.
On September 17th and 18th he was the F.O.H. sound engineer, together with Alberto Butturini, of two concert-events “Aperol with Heroes” at Verona Arena.
In December of the same year, Maurizio was the music broadcast engineer, together with Lorenzo Cazzaniga, for the television show "Uà - Uomo di varie età", presented by Claudio Baglioni, broadcast in prime time on Canale 5 on December 4th, 11th and 18th.
From January to May 2022 he was the F.O.H. sound engineer for the tour "Dodici Note Solo 2022" by Claudio Baglioni.
On May 21st Maurizio mixed live sound of the event "Radio Italia Live - Il Concerto" in Milan (held on occasion of the 40th anniversary of the radio).
He has worked with many musicians of national and international renown as: Phil Palmer, Pick Withers, Jack Sonni, Danny Cummings, Mel Collins, John Illsley, Steve Ferrone, Chicco Gussoni, Franco Cristaldi, Jorge Bezerra, Riccardo Onori, Saturnino Celani, Luca Colombo, Christian Rigano, Elio Rivagli, Ernesttico, Lele Melotti, Everette Harp, Giorgio Secco, Nicola Peruch, Luca Scarpa, Reggie Hamilton, Diego Corradin, Paolo Costa, Stefano Di Battista, Davide Tagliapietra, Alessandro Alessandroni Jr., Lorenzo Maffia, Cristiano Micalizzi, Roberto Gallinelli, Ruggero Brunetti, Marco Tamburini, Leonardo Di Angilla, Marco Rinalduzzi, Alfredo Golino, Giorgio Cocilovo, Paolo Gianolio, Danilo Madonia, Stefano Senesi, Carlo Di Francesco, Stefano Pisetta, Stefano Zavattoni, Marco Vito, Pio Spiriti, Roberto Pagani, Bruno Giordana, Mario Guarini, Emiliano Bassi, Andrea Zuppini, Maurizio Dei Lazzaretti, Mylious Johnson, Steve Walters, Trevor Horn, Alan Clark and Garreth Brown.
