Special Italy.
Circo Inferno Cabaret, vol. 2.
This is street music. Not in the usual sence of crowd entertainment, but music which actually originates from the street and the people that live in the street: communicative music, of which the urgency does not have much to do with the requirements of the market forces. These are artists that don’t need the huge stage, a safety cordon or luxury dressing rooms. On the contrary: the smallest obstacle between themselves and the public is considered undesirable.
CD. Circo Inferno Cabaret, vol.2. Label: Dunya Records/Felmay (2005), code: fy 8096. Video.
Banda Olifante.
Characterized by big brass players and percussion, Banda Olifante’s line-up consists of a core of 12 players complemented with a pool of permanent members and special guests that take turns in live shows and studio sessions. Led by Stefano Bertozzi and Massimo Eusebio, the band plays a repertoire which is influenced by the best popular band tradition, varying from improvisation to western culture, from Klezmer to afro-funk.
That is Banda Olifante, an authentic fusion brass band that brings a tribute to popular music.
CD. Banda Olifante. Label: Fermay (2009), code: fy 7030.
Video.
Carlo Actis Dato Quartet.
This is the most original and entertaining band of the Italian jazz, whose music combines both great sounds and extravagant entertainment. Sometimes the band plays jazz or Middle-Eastern ethnic music, afro and funk rhythms or Eastern-European sounds and old Italian-like songs with a touch of pop song atmosphere. This is high quality heterogeneous material (all the original songs were written by Carlo Actis Dato). On stage the band presents an explosive mixture of music and theatre and the audience takes part in the performance.
CD. Delhi Mambo van Carlo Actis Dato Quartet. Label: YvY music, Germany (1998), code : 3065.Video.
Gianmaria Testa.
The voice of Gianmaria Testa is tempting, floating somewhere between singing and whispering. His sober and hoarse voice is the essence and colours the music on this record with great emotional value. Most of the chansons consist of whispered, spoken text with an accompaniment of double bass, limited guitar play and drums. The music is full of emotions, not sentimental but very powerful.
CD. ‘Altre Latitudini’ by Gianmaria Testa. Label: Le Chant du Monde (2003), code: 2741253. Video.
Tribu’Italiche: Molise.
Molise, the land of bagpipe players; this little region in southern Italy is also the home of a great tradition of lamentations. This CD contains tracks which have been recorded by well-known field researchers like Diego Carpitella and Mario Alberto Cirese and various local scientists. The album contains songs for different instruments like bagpipe, accordion and acoustic guitar; stornellatori (popular music made to promote Roman culture and traditions) and chanted poetry accompanied by African-Cuban percussion, et cetera.
CD. Tribu’ Italiche: Molise. Label: Felmay (2006), code : WM043.
Tenores di Bitti.
The incomparable power of the human voice is being expressed in one of the most magnificent ways byTenores di Bitti. The polyphonic singing is typical for the rural zones of central Sardinia, a form of art which originates in Antiquity. The first singer of the group gives the melody of the opening sentence, followed by the harmonies of the other members, in order to transform sound into something that is both rich and strange, a sound of which the expressiveness, intensity and human warmth manage to compete with the most admired, universal choir music traditions like those of Georgia or Bulgaria.
CD. ‘Caminos de pache’ by the Tenores di Bitti. Label: Felmay (2004), code fy 8088. Distribution : Music & Words. Video.
Gianmaria Testa.
To call him the Italian Leonard Cohen would be unfair, but it is a tempting comparison. Gianmaria Testa as well as Cohen are poetic text writers, very conscious of the human condition. This live soloist CD marks a good starting point if you don’t know much of Testa’s work. The songs have depth without having made concessions to commercial success. No matter if you don’t speak Italian. The music communicates directly with your heart.
CD. Solo dal vivo van Gianmaria Testa. Label: Le Chant du Monde (2009), code: 274 1731. Video.
