Tonolo is one of the most interesting of the batch of Italian musicians broadly grouped under the umbrella of La Nuova Onda (new wave) of the late 80s. Although he took piano lessons at seven and studied the violin between the ages of 10 and 18, Tonolo taught himself saxophone at 16 and has developed an individual voice on the alto. He began in jazz rock bands then moved over to jazz, getting his first job with his pianist brother, Marcello, in 1978. At the end of 1981 he joined Enrico Rava’s band and in 1982 toured with Gil Evans. He has also played with Franco D’Andrea, Massimo Urbani, Luigi Bonafede, Roswell Rudd, Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Owens, Sal Nistico, Lee Konitz, George Lewis and Barry Altschul, and has worked in a duo and quartet with Rita Marcotulli, a collaboration that has produced some highly inventive and adventurous improvisation.