Franco Cerri

Franco Cerri (29 January 1926 – 18 October 2021) was an Italian guitarist and double bassist. Cerri was born in Milan and learned to play guitar when he was 17. In 1945 he became a member of the group led by Gorni Kramer and joined the orchestra of the television show Buone vacanze. He played double bass in addition to guitar starting in the 1950s, such as with Chet Baker and Buddy Collette. He has also played with Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin, Stéphane Grappelli, Lars Gullin, Billie Holiday, Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, Lou Bennett, Bud Shank, Tony Scott, Django Reinhardt, Phil Woods, and the Modern Jazz Quartet. He cited as influences Django Reinhardt, Barney Kessell, and René Thomas.Cerri has led quartets and quintets with Tullio De Piscopo, Pino Presti, Gianluigi Trovesi, Flavio Ambrosetti, and Jean-Luc Ponty.In 1980 he formed a duo with pianist Enrico Intra, with whom he founded the "Civica Scuola di Jazz" in Milan.

On 1 January 2006, he was knighted by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

Cerri died on 18 October 2021, at the age of 95.