Il quinto elemento
jazz fem-nomenon
Music For Voices
Voices that meet and create harmonies, weave dialogues, tell stories.
Female voices, a boundary that dictates a certain style.
And then there’s play, fun and a little madness. And, of course, emotion.
Il Quinto Elemento made its debut in 2015 and, encouraged by awards such as those obtained at the international competition “Solevoci” in Varese (“Best Jazz formation” and “Best soloist” in the 2016 edition). The ensemble has performed in numerous varied and richly creative live shows, experimenting with acoustics and unusual scenarios: the five members played with the environment and interacted with the spectators during concerts in the mountains, in prisons, in museums, in secret gardens, alongside amplified shows and in more classical contexts.
The popular “fifth element” of their performances is their theatrical entertainment, emphasized by their repertoire choices. In 2020, “Introducing“, Il Quinto Elemento’s debut album, was released by Filibusta Records.
Introducing
MYA FRACASSINI
Graduating in classical voice and vocal chamber music, she usually performs repertoires ranging from the Middle Ages to contemporary cultured music. Dance, acting and theatrical improvisation are part of her curriculum. She also holds a degree in Music Disciplines, Vocal Chamber Music and Renaissance Polyphony. During her career she has dealt with the most disparate musical genres (jazz, blues, soul, funky, Argentine tango). She usually performs as guest soloist with important ensembles in festivals and concerts of international fame (Bruges Festival; Viterbo Baroque Festival; Ascona Music Weeks; Ravenna Festival; Spoleto Festival dei due mondi; Cantar Lontano in Pesaro; Itria Valley Festival). She has numerous CDs to her credit, released by the most important international labels. She founded the female vocal trio “Ad Lib” and in 2006 released the CD “Musica in Gioco”.
ELISA MINI
Graduated with full marks and honours in Jazz Singing at “G.B. Martini” Conservatory of Bologna. Winner of the “Best Artist” award at the Fara Music Summer School (2011) and of the Jazz category of the Festival Delle Arti in Bologna (2012), finalist of the international jazz competition “Scrivere in Jazz”(Writing in Jazz) in Sassari (2012). In 2013 she represented Italy in the European Jazz School, performing in Bordeaux and Frankfurt. In 2014 she was a member of the National Orchestra of Young Jazz Talents, directed by Maestro Paolo Damiani. With the orchestra she recorded in 2015 a record as a solo singer and chorister, produced by Camilla Records. She has several projects on jazz and Brazilian music and holds concerts throughout Italy and abroad. She has collaborated with some exponents of Brazilian music in Italy, including: Luiz Lima, Ricardo Da Silva, Anderson Souza. She lent her voice as a backing vocalist in the album “Memoria” by the Brazilian singer-songwriter Toco and in the album “Amore e furto” by Francesco De Gregori. In 2016 she is one of the artists selected by the “Toscana 100 band” call, thanks to which she made her first solo album “Beyond the line”, with her own compositions, released in May 2017 for the Nadir Music label. Since 2018 she has been a teacher of Performance Practices and repertoires at Siena Jazz University, and she is co-founder and singing teacher at the Voce in Salute centre in Prato.
Paola Rovai
A Tuscan singer, she was a member of the progressive folk septet L’Apprendista Bardo, with whom she recorded the album “Bisesto” (2005); two of the band’s songs are included in the compilation T-Rumors by Toscana Musiche (2012). She has long dedicated herself to the traditional music of the Mediterranean countries with the Eshareh Ensemble (Sete Sóis Sete Luas Revelation Award in 2007). She has become increasingly interested in ensemble vocals and improvisation, taking part in projects such as Voisix and Vocal Summit Project, under the direction of Lorenzo Sansoni, before moving on to Il Quinto Elemento. Since 2014, she has also been a member of the Novo Grupo Vocal, a vocal and instrumental ensemble directed by Stefania Scarinzi.
In 2023, she participated in the album “Canzoni d’amore” by Marco Rovelli and Paolo Monti (Dischi Bervisti/Audioglobe). She performed in a trio with Rovelli and Monti for the tour related to the album.
Her voice is also featured in the publication “Canti del Mondo. Viaggio musicale alla scoperta dei popoli” by Cecilia Pizzorno and Ester Seritti (Edizioni Curci, 2020), a project sponsored by Nati per la Musica and Nati per Leggere.
She sang, together with Daniele Poli’s Tuscae Gentes, in the compilation “80°, 1945–2025” produced by ANPI Vernio and Prato on the occasion of the anniversary of the Liberation.
She also works with voice as a speech therapist, in her center “Voce in Salute” in Prato, which offers consultations, education and rehabilitation to singers and other vocal professionals.
STEFANIA SCARINZI
Jazz singer and teacher, she is composer, arranger and director of choirs. She holds singing masterclasses throughout Italy, and is specialized in the formation of Vocal Summit groups and guided improvisation. She has been playing the piano since the age of four. She studied jazz and improvisation with Bob Stoloff of the Berklee School of Music in Boston and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. She is among the first certified teachers in Italy with the Vocal Power Method of Los Angeles. She has participated in concerts and festivals in Italy and abroad collaborating, among others, with musicians such as Pietro Tonolo, Francesco Cafiso, Cameron Brown, Ian Shaw, Vana Gierig, Scott Hamilton, Renato Sellani, Dave Kikoski, Bobby Durham. In 2002 she was included as “best talent” in the Top Jazz poll launched by the magazine Musica Jazz. She has recorded both in the classical and jazz fields. Her latest work is “Sempre Amore” (Always Love) with Renato Sellani, Massimo Moriconi and Nico Gori, released by Philology Jazz Records. She currently holds the chair of jazz singing at the Fiesole Music School.
Michela lombardi
Watch the video
Contacts
Contacts
Follow us!