Il jazz secondo Gianni Basso. Cronache di un caposcuola (Gianni Basso’s take on jazz. Chronicles of a leading figure) is a book by Sandra Scagliotti and Fulvio Albano, published by Azzurra Publishing in 2014, five years after the death of the great Piedmontese saxophonist. Gianni Basso was one of the greatest Italian jazz musicians, and…Continue readingGianni Basso’s take on jazz. Chronicles of a leading figure
Tag: italian music
[Monday Notes No. 182] La Foule is one of the best known songs by French singer Edith Piaf. The song sounds typically French, but in fact its origin is in South America, in a Peruvian waltz. Here, then, is the story of La Foule and some notes on the song.Continue readingEdith Piaf, La Foule. A Peruvian waltz turned French
[Monday Notes No. 181] La nevicata del ‘56 is a song written in the 1970s by Carla Vistarini and Luigi Lopez, but remained unused for a long time. Only in 1990 did it find a great interpreter in Mia Martini at the Sanremo Festival. That same year, the song was also interpreted by Franco Califano,…Continue readingMia Martini, a song about nostalgia
[Monday Notes No. 176] Come pioveva is a song composed in 1918 by Neapolitan composer Armando Gill. The song has all the elegance of Neapolitan music of those years, and is masterfully interpreted by Carla Mignone, aka Milly. There are two versions of the song, as censorship intervened, distorting the meaning of the song by…Continue readingMilly, “Come pioveva”. For censorship, just change a word
[Monday Notes No. 174] Milly Carla Mignone was an Italian singer and actress. Born in 1905, much of her career as an actress dates back to the first half of the 20th century, while her studio recordings date back to 1964, when she was therefore over forty years old. Although she was very strong in…Continue readingMilly Carla Mignone, a special Thursday with Bruno Lauzi
[Monday Notes No. 172] La canzone di Marinellais one of Fabrizio De André’s most famous pieces, and is also one of his earliest songs as it was composed in 1962. The lyrics of the song have been much studied, the Ligurian singer-songwriter in fact has his most original point in his lyrics. However, this piece…Continue readingLa canzone di Marinella, a simple melody for Fabrizio De André
[Monday Notes no.168] Vasco Rossi is one of the Italian singer-songwriters who most divides the audience: many love him, just as many dislike him. In fact, his music has characteristic features, unique in some respects, which can support opposing opinions and reviews. I have tried to analyze his song Va bene, va bene così, highlighting…Continue readingVasco Rossi, Va bene, va bene così. Giving space to the band… it pays off
[Monday Notes no.167] A Whiter Shade of Pale is a classic Procol Harum song, the song that launched the band in 1967. While American rock is mainly inspired by the blues, British rock has always maintained a close relationship with classical music. No wonder, then, that A Whiter Shade of Pale is largely derived from…Continue readingA Whiter Shade of Pale, all in one scale, like Bach
[Monday Notes no.166] Napule è is part of Pino Daniele’s first album Terra mia, released in 1977. The Neapolitan composer was inspired by the blues and jazz repertoire but did not deny his origins, which he proudly claimed by singing in Neapolitan dialect. It is therefore not surprising that Pino Daniele dedicated the first track…Continue readingNapule è, Pino Daniele sings of his home town
[Monday Notes no.165] Many of Gino Paoli’s songs are based on a chord sequence that is known in harmony as a turnaround. This is the case for example in Il cielo in una stanza, Sapore di sale and La gatta, probably his most famous songs. Che cosa c’è also employs the turnaround, but in a…Continue readingChe cosa c’è, Gino Paoli and the turnaround