Mafalda Minnozzi is the voice, the freedom, the courage, the boldness, the instinct, the irreverence and the "M" of eMPathia.
Paul Ricci is the guitar, the architecture, the pentagram, the method, the search for the perfect sound, the position and the "P" in eMPathia.
"eMPathia" is a musical project that was born spontaneously of two international artists so different in origin and experience but with so much synergy on stage around the world. In 2015 Mafalda Minnozzi and Paul Ricci, as the eMPathia Jazz Duo, put their respective musical experiences together in a special meeting of cultures and influences to present a sound that immediately captured the imagination of their audiences at their debut shows in Italy, Brazil and the USA. They completed three CDs in only three years as evidence of the great “empathia” that has inspired and continues to inspire these two artists whether in the studio or onstage. From their first album EMPATHIA Jazz Duo (MPI/EGEA 2015) and INSIDE (MPI/ONERPM 2016) on up to their most recent COOL ROMANTICS (MPI 2018), the duo has grown through their eternal search to find the essence of each composition in their repertoire resulting in an unmistakeable sound. The three productions therefore represent a perfect trilogy that documents the evolution of their sound that was pre destined. With enthusiasm and sincerity combined with unquestionable technical ability and an extraordinary dramatic element, the eMPAthia Jazz Duo fascinated and won over the audiences at their presentations in Rome (Casa Del Jazz, Alexanderplatz and Villa Celimontana Festival), Milano (EXPO 2015), Torino (Jazz Club Torino), Ancona (Ancona Jazz Summer Festival), Lisbon (Estoril Casino), Porto (Casa da Musica), Bremen (Jazzahead Clubnight 2017), Munich (Vogler) and finally in New York where their shows were applauded at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Zerilli-Marimó foundation at New York University and in various jazz clubs such as Mezzrow and the legendary Birdland.
Grammy award winner Jeff Jones, also noted for his well documented collaborations with Wynton Marsalis, recorded and produced the two most recent CDs by the duo in his New York studio. The COOL ROMANTICS CD was released January 2018 in NY at the Jazz Congress/Jazz Connect encounters in NY.