Internationally acclaimed accordion player and composer, Tesi is rated as one of the most daring and authoritative musicians in the European world music scene.

What is amazing about Tesi is his easily recognizable style, allowing his diatonic accordeon to speak both an archaic and modern language, widening the vocabulary and the technique of an instrument for a long time preserved as part of a traditional heritage.

Riccardo Tesi, over his forty years of career, has collaborated with world music artists such as Elena Ledda, Justin Vali, Marc Perrone, Kepa Junkera, John Kirkpatrick, Bottine Souriante and Patrick Vaillant, jazz musicians Gianluigi Trovesi, Stefano Bollani and Gabriele Mirabassi, and great songwriters as Ivano Fossati, Fabrizio De Andrè and Gian Maria Testa.

Leader of Banditaliana, one of the most renowned Italian groups on the world music international scene, and member of Samurai, all-stars quintet of european accordeon players, he has played in the most important jazz & folk festivals all over Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan.

In 2014, he restaged the new version of Bella Ciao to celebrate 50 years of the most important show in the history of Italian folk music.

He has recorded over 29 albums and composed music for film and theatre.