Jazz is movement, breath, freedom. It is wind blowing through the notes, bringing with it stories, contamination and new directions.

On March 20, 2025, the Premio Salerno Jazz (Salerno Jazz Award) will bring the breath of Afro-American music to the stage of the Verdi Theater, with an evening that celebrates the best of Italian and international jazz, rewarding artists who have been able to innovate without forgetting tradition.

Prominent among them is Antonio Onorato, a Neapolitan musician and guitarist with an unmistakable sound, whose unique “breath guitar” has been able to transform the breath of the soul into poignant notes. It is no coincidence that a Native American Apache tribe renamed him “Kentì Wa Hè” (translated, He Plays Like the Wind), recognizing in his music that same primordial energy that animates the most authentic jazz.

Onorato will also perform accompanied by the Salerno Jazz Orchestra conducted by Stefano Giuliano, artistic director of the Prize, and he will alternate with other big names on the jazz scene.

The presenters of the event will be Nick the Nightfly and Concita de Luca. They will be guiding the audience on this journey through the many souls of jazz.

With top-level protagonists and a program of absolute quality, the Salerno Jazz Award is thus established as one of the most prestigious events in the Italian jazz scene: a stage where jazz continues to blow strong, between past and future, carrying with it the echo of a thousand stories and infinite possibilities.