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Rating: To be honest, I'm not really a fan of the current swing. And if I'm being sincere, Michael Bublé and Ray Gelato, for example, aren't particularly appealing to me. Aside from the legends like Fred Buscaglione and Nicola Arigliano, just to give an example, I can't say I appreciate the genre that much.
Then one fine day, on the 15th of August a few years ago, the town priest organized a party and hired a group that was, until then, completely unknown to me. The "Spaghetty Style" offer a swing that is innovative in certain ways, clean, never heavy, revisiting Italian-American songs that more than half a century ago conquered radios and nightclubs. They hail from Avellino, and they are a high-class gang of seven. Alessandro Tozza is the voice, the one who gives directives for possible bank heists. Vincenzo Tammaro is more skilled at the piano keyboard than at the telegraph keyboard for sending messages of retaliation to rival families. On the woodwinds or brass, however you want to call them, are Saverio Giugliano (sax), Antonio Del Sonno (trombone), Luigi Addorisio (trumpet). When they come together, they manage to cover the roar of sirens when they’re chased by the police. And this happens quite often. On double bass, there’s Giovanni Montesano, highly skilled at accompanying the gang in the rather frenetic rhythms of their days. But how is it possible that a gang of gangsters doesn’t have weapons? Oh, they do. They possess an impressive armory, well-stocked with ammunition. A nice drum set handled by Umberto Spiniello.
Seeing them is a blast. They are excellent and truly entertaining, engaging even the most reserved listener. Interesting are the fusions of diametrically opposed genres. Try listening to a bolero that flows into “Buonasera signorina” or a “Notturno” by Chopin used as an opening before clashing with an explosion of much livelier sounds, like a Buscaglione piece. Original. Really. I had the chance to see them again live on another occasion and this time I bought their album. I assure you, if you have the chance to see them, you won’t regret it.
Unfortunately, for now, they are only emerging live in the Campania-Potenza area. I fear it's difficult to find any of their works in record stores. Let alone if the ignorance of the Italian recording industry has noticed them. Too busy printing copies of Marco Carta or Alessandra, that "stupida" (is that what she's called?). They are trying to dive from the "Sanremo Giovani" springboard for next year. Let's give them a hand because they deserve it.
Do you love swing? Then listen to the Spaghetti Style.
Do you hate swing? Listen to the Spaghetti Style and you’ll learn to love it.
Are you unsure about the value of swing and want to give it another chance? Listen to the Spaghetti Style and maybe you’ll change your mind.
P.S.: The artists mentioned at the beginning are absolutely not comparable. Buscaglione cannot be defined. Too great. Arigliano did "La grande guerra," he’s almost a century old and still possesses a grit that makes even high-caliber artists like Bublé and Gelato shiver (the latter sit perched on my nerves though).
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