About Rocco
"One can only smile and enjoy when hearing the music of Rocco Ventrella.
The joy of his music that exudes from his soul is undeniable. His passion for smooth jazz is so obvious with every note he plays". - Everette Harp
Rocco Ventrella has been “Artist Of The Year 2015” nominated on Jazztrax,com and invited to perform at Catalina Jazztrax Festival.
Ventrella received a Grammy Awards Pre-Nomination for Contemporary Jazz Best Album 2007 cd “Give Me The Groove”.
On the 2005 Ventrella recorded, arranged and produced the "Tribute To Grover Washington,Jr." CD in memory of the late, great saxophone player. This remarkable recording originally contained just five tracks: "Winelight", "Let It Flow", "Make Me a Memory", "Mr. Grover"(original by Ventrella) and "Come Morning". However, it was “Winelight” that made Rocco a household name on Smooth Jazz stations across the Internet."Winelight" track was selected by Jimi King(Sky.fm) as one of "The BestOf 2005," along with other 14 tracks.
Ventrella continued to create new recordings featuring his own compositions, including the soulful and haunting "I Receive Your Love". The “Tribute To Grover” and "I Receive Your Love" CDs brought Ventrella to the attention of American producer Bruce Nazarian (he played the synclavier on the "Giving you the best that I got" Anita Baker's CD, Millie Scott, The Automatix), and an international alliance was born.
Ventrella's "Give Me The Groove" CD, produced by Bruce Nazarian and recorded with the collaboration of his friend pianist Renato Falaschi scored Top 20 smooth jazz radio stations with 5 tracks of the CD: Soulful Strut, Winelight, Alleria, On The Night and Give Me The Groove.
Ventrella also received positive reviews from Dave Koz, George Duke, Everette Harp, Marion Meadows, Chris Standring and more. Also "Soulful Strut" track placed #1 in Jimi King's prestigious 2006 year-end countdown.
"Sweet Temptation" new single released on March 2012 and placed #46 on Top 100 of 2012 Groove Jazz Music.com.
On January 2013 released "Sweet Temptation" whole CD featuring a nice and interesting version of "Summertime"(G.Gershwin)featuring Everette Harp on saxophone. Also Paul Brown and Nils on guitars and Gerry Brown and Sergio Bellotti on drums are other featured artists.
Rocco Ventrella was born in Bari, Italy and began playing saxophone at age of twelve.
Rocco Ventrella appeared in selected jazz festivals include the "James Brown Festival" in Georgia, the "1° Annual Smooth Jazz Festival" in Austria, the "The Cube Smooth Jazz Festival" plus with Brian Culbertson in Austria, the "Augsburg Smooth Jazz Festival" plus with Gerald Albright , Paul Brown, Jessy J. in Germany, the "Mallorca Smooth Jazz Festival 2013" plus with Rick Braun, Algarve Smooth Jazz Festival 2018 and 2024.
Rocco shared stages with most respected artists such as Peter White, Marion Meadows, Candy Dulfer, Renato Falaschi, Mindi Abair, Jessy J., Brian Culbertson, Nick Colionne, Jackiem Joyner, Nils, Paul Brown, Gerald Albright, Otto Williams, Jonathan Fritzen, Eric Darius, Brian Simpson, Rick Braun, Marc Antoine, Michael Lington, Dave Koz and more.
"A lot of good music here, well played and well produced - much love went into this project!"
~ George Duke
“Rocco’s already receiving some well-deserved attention for his debut CD in the form of national radio play. He has a unique sound, a wonderful melodic sense and a great ability to communicate on his instrument. I’m looking forward to hearing where he goes in the future—it looks bright to me!”
~ Dave Koz