Sergio Pedroli was born in Bergamo, Italy in 1935 and currently resides there. After passing his final exams at the classical liceo of Bergamo, he attended Luigi Bocconi University in Milan and graduated there in Economics and Management.
For four years, while staying at the university boarding house, Pedroli had the opportunity to plunge into the jazz atmosphere of Milan and frequent the nightspots where the greatest musicians of the era often performed in large concert venues, such as the famous Manzoni, Lirico, and Dal Verme theatres.
In 1955 and 1956, Jazz At The Philharmonic produced by Norman Granz was at the top of their popularity and in November 1956, having the opportunity of attending a live concert with jazz stars Lester Young, Bud Powell, Miles Davis and the MJQ, Pedroli decided to enrich the emotional element of the music with a visual record for future reference. After a first rather unsatisfactory attempt came a passionate photographic production which was somewhat appreciated.
Pedroli also made several trips abroad to photograph emerging jazz artists - to Lugano (1956) for Gerry Mulligan; to Paris (1959) for Kenny Clarke; to Antibes (1960) for the memorable festival with Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Bud Powell, Helen Merrill; and to the USA (1965) to New York, Chicago, and Newport for the opportunity to photograph the now famous concert with John Coltrane and others including Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck with Paul Desmond, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa and many others.
Pedroli served for a few years as President of the Bergamo Jazz Club, a period when Bergamo played host to Bill Evans, a very young Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Max Roach, John Surman and many other famous musicians.
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