Giovanni Contri III was born in 1982 in Pavullo, a peaceful village nestled in the Modena mountains.
The emotional wave following Italy's World Cup victory on one side, and the rising popularity of Alberto Tomba on the other, pushed his family to put him through an intense training program in an attempt to mold him into a perfect sports competition machine.
Unfortunately for his father Mauro, what truly interested young Giovanni was a religious path. Alongside the local priest, he committed himself deeply and soon became the most sought-after altar boy in the mountains.

The sound of the church organ sparked his interest in music and led him to join the village band, where the conductor handed him a saxophone less out of clear musical passion, and more due to a despotic decision dictated by whatever instruments happened to be available in the band's storage closet.

His teenage years were tough not so much for him, but for his mother Bruna, who witnessed an academic journey marked by long hair, grunge music, rebellion, and political passion. Failing his first year of high school didn’t stop him; he eventually graduated with excellent results.
But his years of true growth were still ahead.

He enrolled at the DAMS (Arts, Music, and Performing Arts) faculty in Bologna and later at the “A. Boito” Conservatory in Parma, where he graduated (first with a diploma, then with a degree) with top marks and honors under the guidance of Massimo Ferraguti.

He pursued his musical career with passion, seriousness, and a touch of wonder. It’s a path that brought him unforgettable experiences: symphony orchestras, chamber music, important collaborations, records, and countless hours on the road just to reach the stages of theaters and music festivals.

He fondly and emotionally remembers certain moments in his professional life: opening for a Modena City Ramblers concert, playing with the Jazz in’It Orchestra and Jesse Davis at the Stone’s Café, that one time with Herbie Hancock, a duo concert at Milan Cathedral, the hug from Iggy Pop, European Saxophone Congress with Saxofollia, playing clarinet for Sting and lending his saxophone to enhance the songs of Elodie, Loredana Bertè and Gianni Morandi.

He loves teaching saxophone and does so in many public and private schools.

Being an extremely precise person with strong managerial skills, he discovered he was also well-suited to organizing events, such as the Jazz in’It Festival and the Fanano Saxophone Week.

He’s still waiting for his true “grown-up” years to arrive, and not a day goes by that he doesn’t feel grateful for the circumstances that led him to be a member of the Quartetto Saxofolliaa lifelong passion and great love that still beats and shines as strongly as ever.

(Written without the use of artificial intelligence)