Massimo Urbani International Award is the most important Italian contest for jazz soloists. Founded in 1996 in Urbisaglia (MC) by Paolo Piangiarelli, producer of Philology Label record company in memory of Massimo Urbani, brilliant saxophonist from Rome and prematurely dead, since the beginning it has attracted national and international attention managing to enhance the value and the visibility of young musicians.

From 2004 the contest takes place in Camerino and it is organised by the cultural association Musicamdo with the support of Municipality of Camerino and UNICAM. In 2007 the Massimo Urbani Award took the adjective “international”, with the aim of expanding its boundaries abroad. The contest gives young talents the chance to perform and be judged by experts through rigorous live auditions and a prestigious final stage. Music critics from the most important national jazz magazines join the contest composing the jury of critics and collaborate in judging with the main jury composed of internationally renowned musicians such as Enrico Rava, Renato Sellani, Paolo Fresu, Massimo Moriconi, Massimo Manzi, Fabrizio Bosso, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ada Montellanico, Francesco Cafiso.

The reputation acquired through the years allowed the contest to become a renowned stage for young jazz musicians. To get an idea, here is the list of P.I.M.U. winners, now recognized as leading musicians on the international jazz scene: Rosario Giuliani, Alfonso Deidda, Francesco Cafiso, Gianluca Petrella, Luigi Grasso, Nico Gori, Massimiliano Ionata, Emanuele Basentini, Agostino Di Giorgio, Dino Rubino, Julian Mazzariello, Roberto Caon, Antonella Leotta, Ciara Arnette, Luca Mannutza, Massimo D’Avola, Claudio Filippini, Sergio Casale, Andrea Pimazzoni, Luigi Vitale, Walter Ricci, Bepi D’Amato, Robert Anchipolosky, Antonio Prencipe, Faustina Sokolov, Alessandro Lanzoni, Andrea Rea, Francesco Marziani, Yakir Arbib, Marco Ferri, Marco Guidolotti, Alessandro Usai, Fabio Giachino, Giacomo Tantillo, Francesco Patti, Daniele Cordisco, Eugenio Macchia, Giovanni Cutello e Matteo Cutello, Emilia Zamuner, Federico Milone, Tommaso Perazzo, Sophia Tomelleri.