Bio

Ezio "Zac" Zaccagnini was born in Naples on September 16^th, 1962. He’s been living in Rome.

He is a self-taught musician and he started working in the Italian music industry at just 20. He has taken part in both Italian and international live tours.

(with Morandi from 1992 to 1998 - Italian and world tour with more than 400 concerts), with Ranieri in 2001-2005 (450 shows) with De Andre’ in 1993, and with Battiato, Giorgia, Mory Kante, Cheb Khaled, Biagio Antonacci, Gianni Togni, Antonello Salis, Monsieur o’ Pale, Ron, Lucio Dalla, Gigi Proietti, Company Segundo (in the RAI programme conducted by Massimo Ranieri), Marco Armani, Mauro Di Domenico’s band, Antonella Ruggiero and other ones.

He has also played in several TV shows including Domenica In, Festivalbar, Roxy Bar, Help, Unomattina, Citofonare Calone, Morandi show (12 MILLION AUDIENCE), and many others.
He has worked with the following artists and arrangers:

Toto Torquati, Geoff Westley, Claudio Mattone, Beppe Vessicchio, Thierry Mathiosek (Velvet Underground), Mauro Pagani, Cheik Tidiane Seck, Claudio Samale (S.Cecilia), Ernesto Migliacci, Mario Zannini, Euro Ferrari, Lilli Greco, Andrea Amati and so on.

He loves teaching drums and attending drum clinics all over Italian music schools.

Since 1985 he has been working with many artists and groups, both live and in recording studios:

He has taken part in several kermesses and television programmes such as the May 1st Live Concert at San Giovanni in Rome, "Festivalbar" (Italia 1), "Un disco per l'estate" (Canale 5), "Help!" and "Roxy Bar" by Red Ronnie (Tmc 2), "Tarattattà" (Rai2), "Top Of The Pops" and many others.

He leads from 2005 ZAC IN PROGRESS, recording the CD "ZIP A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD" published by 2008th ApBeat record.

Along with his activity as a musician, ZAC is fairly active as a drums and music theoryteacher, collaborating with many famous drummers in clinics and workshops

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Professional drummer and percussionist, he’s born in Naples. Hethen moved to Rome, at only 20, to pursue his musical studies.

Basically self-taught, hestudied afterwards with some friends-colleagues-teachers, in order to follow specific musical topics.

Always active in the field of percussions, he has spent a lot of time studying dynamics, sounds, articulation and sound quality of many percussion instruments, going then back to drums, his first passion.

His personal way of playing drums has been described as sunny and clear, just like a real “groove man” must be, but he took part in several original ethnic drum sets projects as well.

Established as a successful drummer after many musical tours and albums with important Italian and international pop, jazz and folk singers and songwriters, he’s alsobeen working as a producer, author, drum teacher and drum clinics anchorman in music schools and shops.

His current musical project is known with the name of ZAC IN PROGRESS, NEAPOLITOWN and TREE GEES

He played in tours and albums for:

He also worked for main record labels as RCA, RICORDI, POLYGRAM, CGD, along with independent labels as KINDERGARTEN (Florence), CANTARE IN ITALIANO (Rome),Kafer records and other ones.

1986: he plays with Edoardo De Angelis in several stagetours in East Germany.

1987: Spain (Valencia, Palma De Maiorca, opening in the latter the live performance of Paco De Lucia), Switzerland in 1988.

In 1989 he plays with the Italian-Swiss songwriter Mario D'Azzo, in his tourall around Switzerland.

Besides being involved as a drummer in several musical projects, his reputation as a producer keeps increasing through the musical label "Cantare in Italiano". For this label, he produces the first two albums of the Genoese songwriter Max Manfredi (Le parole del gatto), awarded with three prizes as the best debut in 1990 (Tenco prize, Recanati prize and Ciampi prize) and MAX in 1992.

In the second album (Max), besides producing the whole album, he also produces a track performed by Max Manfredi(La Fiera della Maddalena) together with Fabrizio De Andre'.

He plays drums and percussions in two albums bythe important Italian artist Sergio Endrigo, also taking part in several live performances by Sergio Endrigo in Italy.

Ezio plays for the Italian top singer Gianni Morandiin a 12 datestour in indoor stadiums in 1992.

In 1993, he starts his tour with Gianni Morandi. This tour set a real record in the Italian pop music field, thanks to its 280 live performances all over Italy, Canada, USA (playing in New York at the Palace Theatre in Broadway, a real temple for musicals, in Oct. 15^th, 16^th and 17^th, 1993), France, Luxembourg, Switzerland.

The second tour with Gianni Morandiin 1996/1997 includes 85 live concerts, performed all around Italian indoor venues and stadiums. This tour closes in a nice way:a RAI 2 prime time programme, performed live in the theatre DelleVittoriein Rome on Dec. 7^th, gaining more than 10 million audience. Such an event creates a new impulse inthe field of tv concerts and musical happenings.

He plays with the Sanremo winner Syria, teaming up with her for two years in more than 110 live concerts and manytvpromos.

In the meantime, Ezioalso catches the chance to play with Gianni Togni in his tour "Bersaglio mobile", replacingManùKatchè’s rhythm sections in live performances.

In 1995 he starts cooperating with another great Italian singer, Massimo Ranieri, in 3 tours, from January 2002 until 2006.

Tours with Ranieri:
"NUN E' ACQUA"
"OGGI O DIMANE"
"ACCUSSI' GRANDE"
...These 3 tours record more than 500 reruns all over Italy and in Canada, USA, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium.

He plays with the famous arranger Toto Torquati, recording manytracks in a studio

In London, he plays in three albums with the famous arranger Geoff Westley(Bee Gees, Luciobattisti, Claudio baglioniand so on)

Many African musicians living in France ask for his contribution. Among them:

HAROLD BRADLEY
CHEICK TIDIANE SECK
JEAN-PHILIPPE RYKIEL
AMANAR
GABIN DABIRE'
RASHMI BHATT
CHEB KHALED
MORY KANTE
BADARA' SEK

He records a double cd in Germany with the most famous European Bee Gees tribute band, the Tree Gees, with whom he plays in Switzerland, Germany, Monaco, Poland, Malta and of course Italy, with more than 70 concerts per year.

He sets uphis first trio in October 2002

His current own musical project, Zac In Progress, was conceived in 2005

He has been recording in his own studio, teaming up with Italian and foreign musicians as well.

He has been teaching in many music institutes:

Novamusicaed Arte, Rome
Saint Louis music center, Rome
Alambicco Musicale, Ciampino
UniversitàdellaMusica, Rome
L'Ottava, Rome
He also works as a private teacher

He works also as a drum clinics anchorman ("Il Mestiere del batterista") all over Italy, promoting the musical instruments he plays, along with his  hearty mood and passion.

EZIO acts as an official endorser for:

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EarmonitorEarproject