Release Date - 29/04/22
For a whole decade, spanning between the second half of the ‘50s and the second half of the ‘60s, jazz took over the Italian screens. The Californian be-bop rhythms, filtered and reinterpreted in a typical Mediterranean key, became the perfect soundtrack to the Italy of the economic boom; the quintessential music for a country that was sailing through a moment of profound and exciting industrial, social and cultural renovation. A nation that was rapidly shedding its skin, changing its style, look and identity, but also its landscape, letting itself go to the inebriation of the economic miracle. The compilation was conceived like a sonic stream, a journey of discovery carefully sequenced from hundreds of soundtracks from the golden age of Italian jazz contained in the CAM Sugar archive.
33 tracks that go beyond music, telling the story of Italian cinema, society and of its unmistakable style and charm. A genre that even when nodding to Californian be-bop, to crime jazz or bossa nova still sounds surprisingly original and Mediterranean, elegant, and seductive, either with joyous peaks (the scat of I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni or of I 4+4 di Nora Orlandi) or with enigmatic and nearly dramatic nuances (La strega in amore by Luis Bacalov, Il batticuore by Marcello Gigante). The compilation also offers a precious insight into the Italian jazz scene of the times, with its string of formidable soloists like Gianni Basso (sax) and Oscar Valdambrini (trumpet), two Piedmontese men on duty for the RAI television orchestra conducted by Armando Trovajoli; like Nunzio Rotondo (trumpet) a legendary and elusive figure who had a special bond with Piero Piccioni; or like Enrico Rava (trumpet), Franco D'Andrea (piano) and Gegé Munari (drums) who often recorded with Piero Umiliani. Not to forget international stars like Chet Baker and Gato Barbieri, who were often fortuitously dragged into the recording sessions also thanks to Umiliani’s never-ending curiosity.
Track Listing Piero Umiliani – Notte In Algeria – I Piaceri Proibiti / Francesco De Masi – Oggi In Africa – Alla Scoperta Dell’africa / Ennio Morricone – Agosto Jazz – La Voglia Matta / Armando Trovajoli – Jumping – Il Vedovo Nino Oliviero / Bruno Nicolai – Ora Di Punta – Mondo Cane No. 2 / Riz Ortolani – Il Sorpasso (Titoli – Ripresa) – Il Sorpasso / Marcello Giombini – Notti D’amore A Tokyo – Le Dolci Notti / Aldo Piga – Il Vedovo Bianco – Amore Facile / Piero Umiliani – Tensione – Audace Colpo Dei Soliti Ignoti Trumpet: Chet Baker / Gianni Ferrio – Frenesia Dell’estate (Titoli) – Frenesia Dell’estate Luiz Bonfá – Coppia In Crisi – Le Ore Dell’amore Classical Guitar: Luiz Bonfá / Piero Piccioni – Your Smile – 3 Notti D’amore Flute: Gino Marinacci / Giuseppe De Luca – Il Treno Rosa – Mille Peccati Nessuna Virtu’ / Marcello Gigante – Gardenia – Sedia Elettrica Vocals: Nora Orlandi Piero Umiliani – In Fondo Alla Notte – Una Bella Grinta Drums: Gegé Munari ∙ Sax: Gato Barbieri ∙ Trumpet: Enrico Rava / Luis Bacalov – La Strega In Amore (Titoli) – La Strega In Amore Vocals: Nora Orlandi / Piero Umiliani – 7 Monaci D’oro (Titoli) – 7 Monaci D’oro Choir: I Cantori Moderni Di Alessandroni / Gianni Ferrio – Il Raggio Infernale (Titoli) – Il Raggio Infernale Choir: I Cantori Moderni Di Alessandroni / Francesco De Masi – Perry Scott Blues – Sinfonia Per Due Spie Caro Rustichelli – Sexy Lucy – Assicurasi Vergine Carlo Rustichelli – Allegre Notti – Letti Sbagliati / Piero Umiliani – Il Nero – M1 – Il Nero Sax: Gato Barbieri Carlo Rustichelli – Night Blues – Gli Imbroglioni Choir: Quartetto Caravels Marcello Giombini – Miniswing Orientale – Nudo Crudo E… / Carlo Savina – Agente 077 – Sfida Ai Killers (Titoli) – Agente 077 Sfida Ai Killers Choir: I 4+4 Di Nora Orlandi / Aldo Piga – Le Notti Della Violenza (Titoli) – Le Notti Della Violenza Ivan Vandor – Gangsters – Bersaglio Mobile / Armando Trovajoli – Giallo Club – Chiamate 22-22 Tenente Sheridan / Marcello Gigante – Il Batticuore – Il Mostro Di Venezia / Aldo Piga – Concorso Per Giovani Attrici – Letto Di Sabbia / Piero Umiliani – Milano Blues (Edit) – Bianco, Rosso, Giallo, Rosa Giorgio Zinzi – Atmosfera Di Night – La Costanza Della Ragione / Piero Piccioni – Dea Di Un Sogno (Versione Tromba E Organo) – Un Tentativo Sentimentale Nora Orlandi – Gardenia (Vocals Only) – Sedia Elettrica
