Biography

Mauro Patti (b. 1993, Agrigento, Italy) is an Italian drummer, composer, educator and bandleader working at the intersection of jazz, Afro-Atlantic music, Ghanaian highlife and contemporary hybrid forms. Rooted in both Mediterranean and West African traditions, his work explores rhythm as a cultural bridge between Africa, Europe and Sicily.

After beginning his jazz studies at The Brass Group in Palermo, Patti trained at the Berklee College of Music Clinics at Umbria Jazz (2016) and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law alongside his musical training. He later obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Drums and Percussion from the Toscanini Conservatory of Agrigento in 2021, graduating with highest honors with the thesis “The Afro-Cuban Rhythms in Jazz Music” (including original compositions).

In 2025 he completed a Master’s degree at Siena Jazz University with highest honors, developing a research-based thesis on Ghanaian highlife entitled “Ahyewa: History, Rhythms and Main Innovators of Ghanaian Highlife” under the supervision of Ziv Ravitz and Greg Hutchinson, including a contemporary large-ensemble re-imagining of K. Frimpong’s highlife classic Ahyewa Special.

During his studies, Patti worked closely with leading figures of the international jazz scene such as Jeff Ballard, Ralph Alessi, Greg Hutchinson, Jesse Davis, Ziv Ravitz, Jim Black, Greg Burk, Ferenc Nemeth, Stefano Battaglia, Nico Gori and Demian Cabaud, and took part in the Siena Jazz Summer Workshops with artists including Miguel Zenón, Miles Okazaki, Ethan Iverson, Dan Weiss, Ben van Gelder, Ofri Nehemya and Jeremy Dutton.

Between 2015 and 2018 he released two self-produced solo albums (Travel and Medrumorphosis), performing all instruments and handling the entire production process. He also appears on Across My Universe (2018) and Atomi (2021) with the Italian band Marte, and on I Will Leave a Song by Nigerian bassist and singer Chris Obehi, collaborating on the track Bad Energy. Alongside his recording activity, Patti has been active as a live performer with artists and groups including Chris Obehi (Afrobeat), Doui, Dioscuri and Marte, as well as with jazz orchestras and big bands in Italy.

Since 2019 he has been active on the European and international scene, appearing at major festivals and venues including Umbria Jazz, Blue Note Milano, Sicilia Jazz Festival, Jazz Italiano per le Terre del Sisma, Festivalle, Arcosoli Jazz Festival, the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, the Valley of the Temples (UNESCO), Segesta Greek Temple (UNESCO), Selinunte Archaeological Park (UNESCO), Teatro Massimo Palermo and Teatro Pirandello. In 2022 he won the Conad Jazz Contest powered by Umbria Jazz with the ensemble Five Angry Men.

In 2023 he released Telamón (Dodicilune), his debut large-ensemble project as a bandleader, recorded with a twelve-piece ensemble and featuring Giovanni Falzone and Guglielmo Pagnozzi, blending Afro-jazz with Sicilian folk influences. In 2024 he collaborated with legendary Ghanaian guitarist and composer Ebo Taylor, recording a new version of Love and Death in Agrigento with Taylor and his Family Band, followed by a residency in Ghana in 2025 as Taylor’s guest, where he recorded a new EP at Groove House Studio with leading musicians including Victor Dey Jr. and Gaddiel Amoah.

His song Domino, created through the international platform Beyond Music in collaboration with artists from Ghana, Switzerland and the United States, won the Beyond Music Award 2024 and was released on Beyond Music Vol. 4 – Social Change. From June to August 2025 he completed an Erasmus+ traineeship at Comet Records (Paris), deepening his experience in music production and international artist development.

Patti currently leads Palma Nana, his highlife-inspired ensemble rooted in his Ghanaian research, and the Mauro Patti African Sextet, with albums scheduled for release in 2026. He is also featured on Grolnick and Me, the forthcoming 2026 release by the Federico Frassi Quintet. He works between Italy, France and Ghana and is president of Pani cà Musica, a cultural association in Agrigento dedicated to contemporary music, artistic research, education and international exchange.

GO TO MUSIC

Biography

Mauro Patti (b. 1993, Agrigento, Italy) is an Italian drummer, composer, educator and bandleader working at the intersection of jazz, Afro-Atlantic music, Ghanaian highlife and contemporary hybrid forms. Rooted in both Mediterranean and West African traditions, his work explores rhythm as a cultural bridge between Africa, Europe and Sicily.

After beginning his jazz studies at The Brass Group in Palermo, Patti trained at the Berklee College of Music Clinics at Umbria Jazz (2016) and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Law alongside his musical training. He later obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Drums and Percussion from the Toscanini Conservatory of Agrigento in 2021, graduating with highest honors with the thesis “The Afro-Cuban Rhythms in Jazz Music” (including original compositions).

In 2025 he completed a Master’s degree at Siena Jazz University with highest honors, developing a research-based thesis on Ghanaian highlife entitled “Ahyewa: History, Rhythms and Main Innovators of Ghanaian Highlife” under the supervision of Ziv Ravitz and Greg Hutchinson, including a contemporary large-ensemble re-imagining of K. Frimpong’s highlife classic Ahyewa Special.

During his studies, Patti worked closely with leading figures of the international jazz scene such as Jeff Ballard, Ralph Alessi, Greg Hutchinson, Jesse Davis, Ziv Ravitz, Jim Black, Greg Burk, Ferenc Nemeth, Stefano Battaglia, Nico Gori and Demian Cabaud, and took part in the Siena Jazz Summer Workshops with artists including Miguel Zenón, Miles Okazaki, Ethan Iverson, Dan Weiss, Ben van Gelder, Ofri Nehemya and Jeremy Dutton.

Between 2015 and 2018 he released two self-produced solo albums (Travel and Medrumorphosis), performing all instruments and handling the entire production process. He also appears on Across My Universe (2018) and Atomi (2021) with the Italian band Marte, and on I Will Leave a Song by Nigerian bassist and singer Chris Obehi, collaborating on the track Bad Energy. Alongside his recording activity, Patti has been active as a live performer with artists and groups including Chris Obehi (Afrobeat), Doui, Dioscuri and Marte, as well as with jazz orchestras and big bands in Italy.

Since 2019 he has been active on the European and international scene, appearing at major festivals and venues including Umbria Jazz, Blue Note Milano, Sicilia Jazz Festival, Jazz Italiano per le Terre del Sisma, Festivalle, Arcosoli Jazz Festival, the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, the Valley of the Temples (UNESCO), Segesta Greek Temple (UNESCO), Selinunte Archaeological Park (UNESCO), Teatro Massimo Palermo and Teatro Pirandello. In 2022 he won the Conad Jazz Contest powered by Umbria Jazz with the ensemble Five Angry Men.

In 2023 he released Telamón (Dodicilune), his debut large-ensemble project as a bandleader, recorded with a twelve-piece ensemble and featuring Giovanni Falzone and Guglielmo Pagnozzi, blending Afro-jazz with Sicilian folk influences. In 2024 he collaborated with legendary Ghanaian guitarist and composer Ebo Taylor, recording a new version of Love and Death in Agrigento with Taylor and his Family Band, followed by a residency in Ghana in 2025 as Taylor’s guest, where he recorded a new EP at Groove House Studio with leading musicians including Victor Dey Jr. and Gaddiel Amoah.

His song Domino, created through the international platform Beyond Music in collaboration with artists from Ghana, Switzerland and the United States, won the Beyond Music Award 2024 and was released on Beyond Music Vol. 4 – Social Change. From June to August 2025 he completed an Erasmus+ traineeship at Comet Records (Paris), deepening his experience in music production and international artist development.

Patti currently leads Palma Nana, his highlife-inspired ensemble rooted in his Ghanaian research, and the Mauro Patti African Sextet, with albums scheduled for release in 2026. He is also featured on Grolnick and Me, the forthcoming 2026 release by the Federico Frassi Quintet. He works between Italy, France and Ghana and is president of Pani cà Musica, a cultural association in Agrigento dedicated to contemporary music, artistic research, education and international exchange.

GO TO MUSIC

Let’s have a chat!

contact

Let’s have a chat!

contact