Zu

The Profile

Zu are an Italian instrumental trio from Rome featuring baritone saxophone (Luca Mai), bass (Massimo Pupillo), and drums (Jacopo Battaglia), known in reviews for high-intensity jazzcore/noise and a strong live impact.

From the reviews: the core trio is Luca Mai, Jacopo Battaglia, and Massimo Pupillo; their instrumentation is drums, saxophone, and bass; they are repeatedly described as from Rome/Italian; Carboniferous is released on Ipecac and features collaborations including Mike Patton and King Buzzo; one review claims over 1000 concerts across 4 continents.

Across these reviews, Zu come off as a Rome-based instrumental trio (baritone sax, bass, drums) praised for brutal precision and genre-smashing jazzcore/noise. Carboniferous is repeatedly framed as a high point, with Ipecac release and notable guest collaborators. The live reviews emphasize overwhelming volume, technical prowess, and the physical/theatrical side of their shows. Later work (Jhator) is described as ambitious and harder to digest, shifting toward atmospheric, suite-like structures.