Enrico Simonetti


Enrico Simonetti was an Italian pianist, composer, conductor, and television and radio presenter.

Life and career

Born in Alassio, Savona, Simonetti graduated in piano at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. A lover of jazz, in the early 1950s he founded a musical jazz band with Piero Piccioni and Bruno Martino, with whom he performed in the most important nightclubs of the time. In 1953 he moved with his family to Brasil, where he got an immediate success as musician, composer and also entertainer, hosting a long running television program, Simonetti Show, lasted 147 episodes; thanks to his popularity he was made an honorary citizen of Brazil, and introduced into the "Candido Randon da Silva" order. In 1964 he came back in Italy, where he joined RAI television, making his debut in the show Chitarra, amore mio. He was active as a television and radio host, a film composer, and even an occasional actor. Simonetti died at age 54, as a result of complications following a major surgical operation to remove a tumor in the throat.
His film scores include Macumba Love, Special Killers, Il magnate and Per amore di Cesarina.
He was the father of composer and musician Claudio Simonetti.

Selected filmography