Marco Pignataro is a multitalented saxophone player, composer, and educator originally from Bologna, Italy. He has shared stages with artists such as Eddie Gomez, Joanne Brackeen, Danilo Pérez, George Garzone, John Patitucci, Rufus Reid, Kenwood Dennard, Antonio Sanchez, Ben Street, Billy Drummond, Billy Hart, Victor Lewis, Clark Terry, and Jon Faddis, among others.

 

Pignataro performs and tours internationally with several musical groups, including the Marco Pignataro Jazzet and the Eddie Gomez Quintet, which is featured in the widely acclaimed recent CD Per Sempre (BFM Records). Pignataro'sCD, Sofia’s Heart, was also produced by jazz legend Eddie Gomez and features Pignataro’s compositions and arrangements. 

 

Pignataro was the director and cofounder of the Jazz and Caribbean Music Department and was the chair of the Jazz Saxophone Department at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. He was also a board member of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), the president and founder of the IAJE chapter of Puerto Rico, and faculty at the University of Veracruz International Summer Jazz Seminars. His column, "Style & Influence," was regularly featured in the quarterly magazine Jazz Improv. Pignataro is a D’Addario Woodwind Performing Artist and endorser for Applied Microphone Technology Wireless System and for Mauriat and Lupifaro saxophones.