Luca Benedetto – Trumpet and keys
Christian Russano – Guitar and electronics
Marco Bellafiore – Doublebass and electronics
Gabriele Luttino – Drum, glockenspiel and electronics
A deep exploration of sound and the pursuit of a distinctive musical identity have always been at the heart of Satoyama. Since 2013, the band has been dedicated to creating original music that is deeply imaginative and dreamlike. During their early years, spent performing at concerts and busking abroad, they recorded their debut album, Spicy Green Cube. In 2016, they were selected by the Swedish Ministry of Culture, which led to a collaboration with Gothenburg-based saxophonist Jonny Wartel, with whom they recorded the live album In Sweden. Their third album, Magic Forest, released by the Italian label Auand Records and inspired by environmental themes, was named one of the 100 best albums of 2019 by JAZZIT magazine. That same year, they began a fruitful collaboration with Fano Jazz Network, which led to their winning the Per Chi Crea grant, promoted and funded by SIAE and MIBACT. The Build a Forest project emerged from the desire to bring music and a passion for ecology together. In March 2020, it took the band on a zero-CO₂-emissions tour from Moscow to Vladivostok along the Trans-Siberian Railway. This experience inspired Rails, a documentary film directed by Fabio Dipinto, which premiered in cinemas in November 2022. In 2021, Satoyama began collaborating with the theatre collective Biloura on the creation of Sinking Islands, a performance freely inspired by the music of the band’s album of the same name, released in 2022 on Auand Records. The album was warmly received by audiences and critics alike and was selected by Dave Sumner, editor of the American platform Bandcamp, as one of the best jazz releases of 2022. During the 2022 edition of Fano Jazz by the Sea, Satoyama and Fano Jazz Network organised a meeting with Alex Cornelissen and Peter Hammarstedt, CEO and Director of Campaigns, respectively, of the international organisation Sea Shepherd, which has been working for over 20 years to protect marine habitats around the world. In autumn 2022, together with painter Lavia Lin, the band brought Sinking Islands to stages and clubs across Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland and Germany. In 2023, Satoyama won the Nuova Generazione Jazz award organised by I-JAZZ, which gave them the opportunity to perform at numerous festivals in Italy and abroad. In 2024, they won the Green Pilot Tour award from the Europe Jazz Network, enabling them to tour the Scandinavian Peninsula in winter 2025.
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- Best band under 30 // Barolo Jazz Club // 2014
- Taste of Jazz // Novara Jazz // 2016
- Per Chi Crea // Siae // 2019
- Jazzit Abroad // Italia Music Export // 2022
- Nuova Generazione Jazz // IJazz // 2023
- Green Pilot Tour // European Jazz Network // 2024
They have performed at numerous festivals, including the Open Papyrus Jazz Festival in Ivrea; Torino Jazz Festival and Narrazioni Jazz in Turin; Novara Jazz Festival in Novara; Pianfiorito Jazz; JAZZMI in Milan; Fano Jazz by the Sea in Fano; Sinapsi Fest in Rome; Sile Jazz in Treviso; JAZZIT Fest; and North Sea Round Town Festival in Rotterdam. They have also performed at numerous clubs across Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria and Russia.