Interested in music from early childhood, Gianluigi Trovesi played clarinet and attended the Instituto Musicale Gaetano Donizetti in Bergamo where he studied harmony and counterpoint. After graduating in 1966, he worked in swing-style dance bands; in 1978, he became first altoist in the Milan Radio Big Band but also played regularly with guitarist Franco Cerri and pianist Giorgio Gaslini. By the late-70s, Trovesi was a respected member of the European school of improvising musicians. In 1979, together with trumpeter Enrico Rava, he taught at Stockholm Conservatory. Through the '80s Trovesi taught extensively, and played with artists such as Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Misha Mengelberg, and Kenny Wheeler. By the mid-90s, he concentrated on playing his own music, geared particularly towards the Italian improvised music scene.