Naples, Italy wasn’t a completely bad experience for me. It gave me some of the best music I’ve heard in some time, and I got to browse my mate Paolo’s collection!

Thanks to Jazzcat, who posted this.

The tracks are as follows:

Track 1: from the album “Napoli Centrale” (Ricordi 1975) by Napoli Centrale
Track 2: from the album “Mattanza” (Ricordi 1976) by Napoli Centrale
Tracks 3 & 4: from the album “Sotto E ‘Ncoppa” (Carosello 1976) by Tullio De Piscopo Revolt Group
Track 5: from the album “Toni Esposito” (Numero Uno 1974) by Toni Esposito

[Video] Le Ninfe della Tammorra – L’aria de lu mare

May 20, 2015 / Rudy Carrera / 1 Comment

Naples is a city utterly steeped in music. I had the chance to visit briefly a few times, and each visit brought me to a deeper appreciation of the culture (if not all of its residents). Classical music, jazz, ethno, horribly embarrassing pop music – you can find it all there.

Leave it to my dear friend, Rosario Maffucci, who along with Ian Smith, do wonders in discovering new talent. It seems that Le Ninfe della Tammorra are from Naples, and bring tarantella into the modern age with a blend of appropriate instruments and what sounds like great engineering in this punchy tune.

I’m looking forward to seeing more talent pop up in Naples during my next visit!

[Video] Vasco Bulgarelli – Amapola (Canzone Spagnola)

April 22, 2015 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

I’m surprised that there is so little information about Vasco Bulgarelli online, but it seems ‘Amapola’ is a Neapolitan classic. It seems the Spanish left a lot of good in that city (how much we got back in return is debatable, but I loved the city nonetheless).

[Video] Aldo Ciccolini – Gymnopedie n.1 (Satie)

February 2, 2015 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

The world lost one of the greatest piano interpreters of the 20th Century yesterday. Aldo Ciccolini died on February 1 at the ripe old age of 89. He had moved away from Naples to Paris, winning the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in 1949, and becoming a French citizen by 1969. He was the foremost interpreter of the works of Erik Satie, and did his fair part to expose Satie to a wider audience.

Addio, Maestro.

[Video] Georg Ots – Catarí (Core ‘ngrato)

February 14, 2014March 5, 2018 / Rudy Carrera

Suitable for Valentine’s Day, here’s a tune from Naples, Italy, sung by the Estonian vocalist, Georg Ots.

[Video] Valentina Ambrosanio – Notturno n° 1 op. 9 (F. Chopin)

August 8, 2013 / Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

There is much good in Italy in terms of music, especially in the South, which tends to hide its prizes a bit better than in the better-publicized North of the country. Some years ago, I had the joy of traveling to Naples, where I made the acquaintance of pianist Valentina Ambrosanio. In a city which breathes romance, a wild beauty, music and poetry of every shade imaginable, Valentina’s ability, warmth and charm stood out above the crowd.

She is quite comfortable interpreting masters such as Frydryk Chopin (as you can see in the video below) and Johannes Brahms, but has no fear of exploring modern compositions.

Ambrosanio will be working on recording an album sometime this year. She will be worth looking out for in the future.