Guido Ponzini was born on April 21st 1985 in Manerbio, Italy. At the age of sixteen he started the study of electric bass, graduating at CPM in Milano.
Since 2002 he studied with renowned producer Giovanni Amighetti composition basics in world and contemporary music.
Actually he is attending the Viola da Gamba course by Master Roberto Gini at the conservatory A. Boito in Parma, Italy, and here he is also studying "Experimental and Contemporary Composition" with Master Luca Tessadrelli.
In 2005 he started to play Chapman Stick, developing a very personal and variegate approach, He also plays silicon bass, a short-scale fretless electric bass with silicon strings.
As bass and stick player he worked with many world music artists like Ayub Ogada, Adel Salameh, Naziha Azzouz and Vladimir Denissenkov, performing in importants events and festivals.
He is now working on his solo project and in Shan Qi with Guo Yue and Giovanni Amighetti developing live performances in which the traditional instruments are merged with new technologies like the NDS software Electroplankton created by Toshio Iwai.
The project will release a dvd featuring artists as Guo Yue, Helge Andreas Norbakken, Wu Fei and Guido Ponzini.
Dvd is produced by Giovanni Amighetti. Sound engineer: Bruno Cimenti.
The cd is published by the german label OZELLA MUSIC
He compose music for theater shows and soundtracks.
Recently he worked on new Lancia Delta spots for the launch-website.
You can see the videos on www.lancianewdelta.it/.
"It's evident to me that Guido Ponzini has the blessing of good taste, which
will always carry him through, whatever he does. In this case, it's Stick solos,
duos and trios after just over one year of playing the instrument (impressive).
His good taste shows up in the simplicity and perfection of concept and execution,
not over-reaching. No need to."
EMMET CHAPMAN - musician, Stick inventor and president of Stick Enterprises
""A big surprise was the introduction of the Mari Boine Band's concert, during St.Patrick's Festival organized from the Folk Club of Buttrio: just arrived from “Jazzahead” in Bremen, Germany, the young (21 y.o) and extraordinary Guido Ponzini played in the “Garzoni” Theatre for a short set with his“Chapman Stick”, with incredible technique, that shows Ponzini as an extraordinary interpreter, according to the opinion of its inventor, Mister Chapman himself. With a nearly clavicembalistic sonority, the first piece was a test of remarkable counterpoint agility, while the second remembered an ancient charming dance, preparing the atmosphere for Mari Boine's world...
Giuliano Almerigogna, "Il Messaggero Veneto"
"Mari Boine's concert has been opened by the phenomenal 21y.o. stick-player Guido Ponzini, who already played here during the Guitar Festival in September with chinese artists, who also recently released his first solo cd "Twilight Town": a talent with classical background who, with his instrument, can be poet and virtuoso at the same time, thanks to his music which is between jazz, prog and chamber music."
Sandra Mansutti, "Il Gazzettino Online"
"Makes the Chapman stick sound as easy to learn as a recorder in kindergarten.
There is a point where incredible technical savvy and the ability to touch listener’s heart in a very simple and direct way converge. Whenever that happens, you know you have something special and that is why it doesn’t take the ever-active Dagobert Böhm (who acted as an executive producer to “Twilight Town”) nor Emmet Chapman (who invented the “stick” named after him, which sets the album’s tone) to tell us that Guido Ponzini is made of extremely promising material.
Tobias Fischer - Tokafi
"Even though he is very young (°1985) and seems like he just recently started playing the Chapman stick, it is immediately clear that he masters the instrument.Especially on “Rainstorm upon the harbour” which sounds like incredible masterly play of an almost classical composition.
Psychevanhetfolk
Twilight Town proves there's a good deal of virtuosity possible with it. The young Italian experimentalist bass player really explores the possibilities for the stick, electric and silicon bass, as well as combining it with some familiar, traditionally beautiful sounds such as the flute, with often atonal jarring electronic noise.This is his first solo album, although he has been seen supporting artists such as Vladimir Denissenkov, Guo Yue, Ayub Ogada, Adel Salameh and Naziha Azzouz.The scratches and fascinating rhythms of 'Hammers upon the coal mine' are vastly pretentious, as the Vaiesque guitars plough the outer reaches of the prog-jazz spectrum, but it's an album of extremes, and the highs are worth bearing with the experimental and introspective elements.Flautist Guo Yue provides some of the album's highlights, on 'Little dances for a Siamese cat', which is a gem in itself and really provides a foil for Ponzini in his deceptively simple style.
Wyl Menmuir - FLY REVIEWS UK
On his Chapman Stick Ponzini reflects the pastel colors of nature just awakening from winter. Balm for the soul.
Grazie dell'amicizia, complimenti per tutto quello che stai facendo (dal koans for koalas fino alla composizione per stick e strumenti ad arco). Non è escluso che in futuro mi farò sentire per qualche lezione. Salutami Parma. Maurizio a.k.a. SKP
Bravissimo!E originalissimo! Grazie della req! Un bacio grande e sempre buona musica! Dalla tua stessa città...Roberta Di Mario,cantautrice e Pianista Ribelle In Action :-)
