Franco Cerri

Franco Cerri (born January 29, 1926) is an Italian guitarist. He is considered one of the most important European jazz musicians.

Cerri was born in Milan and learned to play guitar when he was 17. In 1945 he became a member of the group Gorni Kramer and joined the orchestra of the television show Buone vacanze. He has played with many established jazz musicians, including Django Reinhardt, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, and Lee Konitz. He also led quartets and quintets with Tullio De Piscopo, Pino Presti, Gianluigi Trovesi, Flavio Ambrosetti, and Jean-Luc Ponty,

On January 1, 2006 he was knighted by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

As leader

• 1952 The Franco Cerri Quintet with Flavio Ambrosetti
• 1958 Jazzin' with Cerri
• 1959 Franco Cerri and his European Jazz Stars
• 1960 Franco Cerri Quartet
• 1960 Franco Cerri Quartet and Choristers
• 1961 Franco Cerri International Jazz Meeting
• 1963 Bossa nova (Columbia)
• 1964 Chitarra (Columbia)
• 1966 12 bacchette per una chitarra
• 1968 La sera a casa con te (CGD)
• 1970 Franco Cerri Jazz (Dire)
• 1973 Metti una sera Cerri
• 1974 From Cathetus to Cicero, with Stefano Cerri and Gianluigi Trovesi
• 1975 A Limen
• 1975 Querce platani e cerri
• 1976 Nuages (Dischi Ricordi)
• 1976 Franco, Tony e Pompeo (Mallobia) with Tony Scott and Bunnie Foy
• 1977 Un suo modo di dire (Dire)
• 1978 Noi duero
• 1979 Demoiselle
• 1981 Omaggio a Bill Evans (Dire) with Enrico Intra and Lucio Terzano
• 1982 Effetto Alfa
• 1984 Franco Cerri Today! (Dire)
• 1985 From Milan to Frankfurt
• 1990 Jazz in Italy with Enrico Intra (Ariston)
• 1990 Di jazz in jazz (Dire)
• 1993 Cerri & Cerri
• 1995 A Django, en souvenir de Milan
• 1997 From Milan to Brussels
• 1998 Images
• 1999 Di Jazz in Cerri...di Cerri in Jazz
• 2000 In punta di Cerri
• 2003 From Cathetus to Cicero
• 2004 Ieri & oggi (reedit of Metti Una sera Cerri + bonus tracks CD)
• 2006 Just Smile
• 2011 Bossa with Strings (Blue Serge)
• 2012 Cerrimedioatutto (M.A.P. Golden Jazz)

As sideman

• 1971 Parabola (Roberto Vecchioni)
• 1972 Saldi di fine stagione (Roberto Vecchioni)
• 1973 L'uomo che si gioca il cielo a dadi (Roberto Vecchioni)
• 1990 A briglia sciolta (Caterina Valente)
• 2001 Go man! (Nicola Arigliano)
• 2006 Just Smile (Matteo Brancaleoni)
• 2010 Bossa & Friends (Alvaro Belloni, with Giovanni Falzone, Rudy Migliardi, Attilio Zanchi, and Riccardo Fioravanti
• 2013 Shirley Bunnie Foy (60th Anniversary) (Bunnie Foy)