Armando Trovajoli (born September 2, 1917, Rome, Italy - died February 27, 2013, Rome, Italy) was an Italian film composer and pianist with over 300 credits as composer and/or conductor. He was married to the Italian actress and singer Pier Angeli. As a child he learned to play the violin, showing a remarkable musical talent. In 1937, he became a member of orchestra Rocco Grasso and in 1939, he played with
artist 4369294's orchestra, one of the most renowned Italian jazz bands of that time. After the Second World War, he resumed his musical career, alternating between playing jazz and light music. In 1948, he gained further academic qualifications, graduating in piano and composing from Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. In 1949, he was chosen to represent Italy at Festival du Jazz de Paris, where he played with double bassist,
artist 520888 and drummer,
artist 1027350. In the following year he began a long series of recordings titled "Musica per i vostri sogni". In collaboration with
artist 2472153 (also known as
Piero Piccioni), he made a series of radio shows, one of the first Italian experiments to present jazz piano performances with a string orchestra. About the same time he began to have success as a popular songwriter, using the pseudonym
artist 802696. In 1952, he was invited by the film director
artist 1692735 to write the music for his upcoming movie Anna. One of the songs "El Negro Zumbon" became a worldwide best seller. In the same year, Trovajoli performed as a concert pianist playing
Gershwin music under the direction of
artist 539131 at San Carlo theatre in Naples and
artist 1610153 at Basilica di Massenzio in Rome. In 1953, in addition to writing the music for the film "Due notti con Cleopatra", he served as the orchestra director at Festival della canzone di Sanremo, repeating this role in 1957. He gained more international success with the song "Che m'è mparato a ffà", recorded by
artist 330164 in 1958. In 1962, Trovajoli, who had previously worked on some variety shows, composed the score for the musical comedy "Rugantino". Travajoli wrote the soundtracks for many movies, working with film directors such as
artist 1031382,
artist 3529467,
artist 1709583,
artist 2556040 and
artist 2964270. In 2007, he was awarded the "Premio Speciale David di Donatello" in recognition of his achievements.