May 28, 1946 – January 17, 2020

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Trumpeter Claudio Roditi passed away on January 17, 2020 at the age of 73.

Roditi was born May 28, 1946 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

His father played guitar and violin and Claudio began studying piano when he was six, switching to the trumpet when he was nine so as to play in his school’s marching band.

By the time he was 15, he was fully involved in music, later attending the Escola Nacional de Musica and Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in Rio de Janeiro.

After working as a studio musician in Brazil, Roditi moved to the U.S. in 1970 to study at Berklee and stayed based in the Boston area for several years where he freelanced, working with Alan Dawson and Charlie Rouse among others.

Roditi moved to New York in 1976 and was part of the New York jazz scene for over 40 years, developing a mastery of bebop and Brazilian music.

Among his countless number of associations were Herbie Mann (1978-80), Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra (1988-92), Slide Hampton’s Jazz Masters and Paquito D’Rivera.

Roditi had an attractive mellow tone on both trumpet and flugelhorn but also an occasionally fiery style; he uplifted every session that he was part of, leading over a dozen albums of his own.

Here is Claudio Roditi on Mar. 25, 2007 in Beverly Hills performing “Bossa Pra Donato” with pianist Helio Alves, bassist Leonardo Cioglia and drummer Duduka da Fonseca.

-Scott Yanow

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