Born in 1970 in Perugia, Mirabassi received his jazz education in Italy, working with trumpeter and singer Chet Baker among others. He has been based in Paris since 1992 and is as much a part of the French jazz scene as the Italian. He made his recorded debut in 1996 with the album , but (forward in Italian) was his first album as a solo pianist. It won two French awards: the Django D'Or for best young talent and a Victoires Du Jazz.

The album's songs had revolutionary themes, ranging from Sergio Ortega's , an anthem of resistance in Chile under Pinochet to John Lennon's , and included music from France, Italy, Spain and South Africa.

greatly increased Mirabassi's popularity, particularly in Japan. However, this led to much of his recorded catalogue on the Sketch label being bought by Japan's Atelier Sawano, making it unavailable in Europe except in the form of highly priced imports.

In protest against this, Mirabassi says he entitled his most recent album, released in 2011, - "forward" in Spanish. "I have chosen this title to cock a snook at the Japanese who have unscrupulously bought the catalogue which comprises , to which I have no more legal rights. I have been dispossessed of my work, in the name of so-called free enterprise," he says.

The album is a sort of sequel, recorded in Cuba and featuring Cuban guest musicians. It includes another version of Cuban anthem , already recorded on as well as European songs of protest and songs with revolutionary sentiments from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela.

Mirabassi, who is much given to quoting Che Guevara, is undoubtedly inspired by revolutionary sentiment, but as Chang points out he is essentially a lyrical pianist and finds the beauty in the songs, some of which he will presumably perform on Tuesday.

On June 7, again at the Arts Centre but in the larger Shouson Theatre, Max Ionata and Dado Moroni will play the music of Duke Ellington. "Dado is yet another top pianist from Italy, and Max is the hottest tenor saxophonist from Italy right now. The duo's tribute definitely breathes new air into those classics," says Chang.

Ionata and Moroni's album was released in 2012 and while there is nothing revolutionary in their interpretations of well-worn standards such as , and , the tunes are played with taste and feeling.

Unsure of whether he was cut out for a career in music, Moroni started out playing gigs by night and studying law by day, until he played a date with the great trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. "Man, there are too many lawyers out there. You should play piano," said Gillespie.

"That was the turning point," Moroni recalls. "I decided right there that I could make a living doing what I loved to do. So I took him seriously, and quit law school."

Although based in Italy, Moroni lived and worked in New York for many years and worked with some of the biggest names in jazz. Ionata is another Italian jazz musician with a big following in Japan, and has recorded for labels in both countries. He records and tours both as a leader and as a sideman.

Both the Jazz World Live Series Italian jazz concerts start at 8pm, and tickets are available from Urbtix.
 

Three albums featuring Giovanni Mirabassi, Max Ionata and Dado Moroni.

• (2010, Distribution Select): a trio date featuring Mirabassi in the company of Leon Parker on drums and Gianluca Renzi on bass. In a trio context Mirabassi's strong Bill Evans influence is particularly apparent.

   

   

• (2007, Picanto Records): a good old-fashioned blowing session, very much in the Blue Note tradition featuring Ionata with Giovanni Amato on trumpet, Julian Oliver Mazzariello on organ and Nicola Angelucci on drums.

   

   

• (2011, Resonance Records): a fairly recent CD and DVD recording of Moroni in concert on a particularly good night, accompanied by Marco Panascia on bass and Peter Erskine on drums.