CHARLY ANTOLINI

As a young man, Charly started his drumming career playing the Basler drum, a traditional Swiss marching snare. When he was nineteen, he traveled to Paris and played with Sidney Bechet, Bill Coleman, Oscar Klein, Albert Nickolas, and Werner Keller. He frequently performed in high-profile festivals across Europe.  Next he moved to Stuttgart, Germany, and played with Peter Witte and Horst Jankowski under Erwin Lehn. He recorded with swing and bebop musicians like Roy Eldrige, Earl "Father" Hines, Buddy de Franco, Jimmy Giuffre, Dusko Goykovich, Art Van Damme, Art Farmer, Baden Powel, Albert Mangelsdorff, Wolfgang Dauner, Stuff Smith, and Oliver Nelson.

In 1976 Charly established his own band, Charly Antolini’s Jazz Power with Steve Hooks, Andrei Lobanov, David Gazarov, and Rocky Knauer. They played all over Europe, stopping at nearly every prominent jazz club.

In the 1980s Charly toured Europe with stars such as Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Barbara Dennerlein, Albert Mangelsdorff, Earl Hines, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Giuffre, Art Farmer, Oliver Nelson, Art Van Damme, Stuff Smith, and Baden Powell. He played with Benny Goodman in a series through Germany and Italy, as well as in the legendary televised concert from Copenhagen.

In the next ten years Charly worked closely with *** Morrissey recording three live albums. In 1994 he created Super Trio with *** Raufeisen and Jimmy Woode.

In 2004 Charly, Herman Rarebell, and Pete York created the trio, Drum Legends, and recorded both a live CD and DVD.

Charly’s work is characterized by power, stamina, passion, and incredible technique. But the backbone of Charly's work is pure swinging rhythm. He currently lives in Munich, Germany, though he tours regularly.