Starting this year, Lugano’s EstivalJazz has taken on a new face. Of the historic festival that many of us have loved since its debut in 1979, unfortunately, only the name remains today. The news has left me with a sense of nostalgia because I owe so much to this event: it is exactly here that I took my first steps in concert photography. It was 2006 when my two great passions, music and photography, were joined in marriage. On that stage, I had the privilege of discovering, listening to, and capturing artists I would never have even dreamed of.
To pay tribute to the Estival that was, I decided to gather in this gallery all the editions I have documented from 2006 to the present. As a rule, I have selected one shot for each of the concerts I attended: not all of the many performances scheduled over the years, but the vast majority.
Browsing through the images, you will notice the evolution of my “eye”: from the first shots, which were honestly a bit raw, to the more recent ones, which are decidedly more mature. Everything has changed over these years: my experience, my equipment—moving from basic tools to much more advanced ones—and even my freedom of movement below the stage. While in the beginning I photographed from wherever I could, literally crushed against the barriers by the crowds gathered to hear the music, since 2009 I have had the opportunity to photograph closer to the stage with a certain degree of mobility. For this, I will never stop thanking the festival organizers, who allowed me to experience the music from a privileged perspective.
2022-2025
Quick note: in 2020 and 2021 the festival was not held.
2017-2019
2014-2016
2011-2013
2006-2010
