Ivan Dalia
Pianist & Composer
Ironic, Playful, Dynamic, and Direct
Ivan Dalia’s music is eclectic, combining the most rigorous classical bases with influences from the vast world of jazz and the rich, popular traditions of the Mediterranean and South America.
Pianist, composer, leader of various jazz bands, and soloist Ivan was born in Teverola, a small industrial city near Naples in the Campania Felix area.
Blind from birth, he chose music as his life partner from an early age: “I was very restless and curious,” - he says - “I wanted to do everything, even things that might seem impossible for a child who could not see. I found myself constantly at the emergency room because I was never fully aware of my limitations, so my parents looked for something to hold me still; seeing me often glued to the radio, my father bought a series of classical music CDs. We didn’t have a stereo system, so I played with them, looking for the sun’s reflection in these mysterious flat and round objects. Shortly after, my father bought me a small operating piano, but I was only nine years old, and like many children, I had no intention of studying; I wanted to play with it, with music, so my first experience with the instrument, with the discipline, was a bit tough. However, at eleven, I realized I had found my passion. At first, the piano was just an outlet, then it became my life, and I can’t imagine one without it”. Ivan began his musical studies at the Conservatorio di Musica San Pietro a Majella in Naples at twelve; he graduated in classical piano in 2012 and composition in 2016 with the highest honors.
At twenty-one, he played and improvised with jazz harmonica legend Toots Thielemans at the Marechiaro Jazz Festival 2006. “The most exciting experience,” he says. At twenty-two, he won the international prize for blind musicians in Kursk, Russia. In 2010, I was one of the composers of Paolo Sorrentino’s documentary film Napoli 24.
From 2010 to 2016, Ivan moved to Berlin to explore its music and art scene, where he collaborates with international musicians and artists. Among these is the director Marinella Senatore, with whom he collaborates on the score for the trilogy of installations ROSAS, which premiered simultaneously in the UK, Germany, and Spain. He formed his trio with Latin American musicians in the German capital and debuted at the Tone Colors Festival.
His first self-titled album, produced by Fabio Massimo Colasanti —former producer of Pino Daniele, Giorgia, Grignani, and Mietta), was released in 2018 when he joined Fabrizio Bosso and Rosario Giuliani. Later, Ivan went on independent tours with a growing following: from a solo pianist in various jazz clubs in New York and Boston and his trio at the Forma e Poesia nel Jazz Festival in Cagliari and Sardinia in 2018.
«His music and personality «shake up stereotypes and support rights.»
- Overcoming
Pozzuoli Jazz Festival, in 2017, «The audience was enraptured by his talent and creative energy, which he managed to communicate with his piano. Applause at the open stage and request an encore from a large audience.» - Il Mattino
He obtained numerous television appearances as a soloist for his contemporary jazz compositions and presented at various Rai events. In 2017, he hosted the XXII edition of the Braille Prize broadcast live on Rai 1 from the Brancaccio Theater in Rome for the second time, and he received the Napoli Cultural Classic award for music. In 2016, he placed second in the Italia’s Got Talent TV series, driving the jury and the public crazy. «A talent without borders, without points of reference, as if deconstructed,» says Luciana Littizzetto on the occasion.
Ivan moved to New York City in 2021 and has played solo and in different bands at Zinc Bar, The Nines, Guthrie Center, Soapbox Gallery, the Red Lion Inn, and the Italian Institute of Culture.
In 2022, Ivan played at his first solo show in New York, “Culture Is An Infinite Receptacle With No Borders.”