Italian crooner Mario Biondi in concert in Rome, Italy December 30th, 2013

Popular Italian crooner Mario Biondi in concert during his “Sun Tour” in Rome’s Auditorium 

Mario Biondi (born Mario Ranno, January 28^th, 1971 in Sicily) is an Italian singer-crooner.   During his younger days he played in several choirs.  He achieved fame in 2006 with his album “Handful of Soul” and in 2013 released a new album called “Sun” plus his current project called “Mario Christmas” which contains 8 cover songs.

His warm, mellow and deep voice has been compared to that of Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes and Barry White.  During Rome’s sold-out concert, thanks also to the folks over at www.fepgroup.it,  Biondi was backed up on stage by “The Italian Jazz Players” band, a group made up of 8 fine musicians in the “Santa Cecilia” hall of Rome’s Auditorium (an approproate hall seeing that Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians and singers).   Biondi’s concert consisted of a 2 hour-plus show filled with 24 songs from the likes of Stevie Wonder and Burt Bacharach.  

Franco Micalizzi and his “Big Bubbling Band” play in Rome, Italy 20/12/2013

Franco Micalizzi was born in 1939 and is an Italian composer and conductor who is best known for his musical scores of Italian action movies. His first big success came about for the musical score of the 1970 Spaghetti Western movie, “They Call Me Trinity” (with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill).  The soundtrack to the Italian film Italia A Mano Armata was eventually used in the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s “Death Proof”.   Tarantino’s last movie, “Django Unchained”, also contained a Micalizzi piece, which was played in Rome.   

Other Micalizzi soundtracks have appeared in movies such as “The Last Hunter”, “Beyond The Door”, The Last Snows of Spring, “The Visitor” and “The Curse”.  Micalizzi’s 19-piece ensemble, the “Big Bubbling Band” (which he founded and which also includes American musicians), plays an entertaining mixture of both funk and jazz music.

 

 

Premier pianist Remo Anzovino puts on a touching performance in Rome, December 7th, 2013

Italian pianist Remo Anzovino exquisitely played a piano concerto in Rome’s “Palazzo delle Esposizioni”

Remo Anzovino is a 37 year-old musician, composer and lawyer from the northern Italian town of Pordenone.  Anzovino first approached the world of music at the tender age of 10.  His early career involved producing soundtracks for silent movies (Buster Keaton just happens to be one of his heroes.  One of his songs is “No Smile Buster Keaton”).  Between 2002 and 2007 he worked on approximately 30 silent movies.  Anzovino is the recipient of several Italian awards with many of his albums that have reached the no. 1 position in the Italian jazz section of iTunes.   

His performance at the 2007 Venice Film Festival was regarded as one of the highlights of the same festival.  One of his most touching pieces, which he also performed in Rome, is “October  1963 (Suite for Vajont)” which commemorates the immense tragedy which hit the northern town of Longarone 50 years ago when part of a mountain collapsed in a dam causing the death of nearly 2,000 people.   The Italian presidency awarded Anzovino a special merit for this piece.   Anzovino’s latest and fifth album is called “Vivo” (Alive) and consists of his first-ever live album of his career which was recorded last April in Rome’s Auditorium. 

Imany’s soul music in concert in Rome December 6th, 2013

Nadja Mladjao, better known as Imany, played to a sell-out audience in Rome’s Auditorium theatre.

After 7 years in New York Imany arrived in Paris in 2010 with just a few clothes in her luggage, a photo book and her self-produced demo.   The young singer from Marseille of African origin slowly began singing in clubs around Paris with the help of her sister.  In 2011 she recorded her first studio album, “Question de Son”.  Her big single, “You Will Never Know”, from her “The Shape of a Broken Heart” album took off like a rocket.  This success followed with a platinum disc and concerts in Paris’s prestigious Olympia theatre.   Imany was backed-up on stage in Rome by a seven-piece ensemble.