I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
[the page background is a scribble my son Joshua made when he was two... it makes me think of the lively network connecting my friends all over the world].
... a small selection from my image archive ...
Don't miss the movies in the video section, there is a lot of music there too, improvisations at one of the Salotti Musicali, one of the videos on Lola Perrin's music and a trailer for a music film in Senegal and Gambia as well as one in Cuba.
A bit of history:
In the early 60s my father brought home the original recording of West Side Story, and with that he opened for me a door into the borderless world of a new generation of music, one that could integrate unlikely styles and traditions in organic marriages and hybrid cross-breeding of unlimited creative potential.
Then came Bartok's Microkosmos, Ives' Holiday Symphony, Stravinsky's Persephone and Hungarian Gypsies, Nino Rota's soundtracks for Fellini's films, Moroccan voices and Indian tablas, Persian Ouds and Frank Zappa's early works, the Henry Cow's summer tours of Italy ... too late to stop, I was hooked!!
Throughout the 70s and 80s I played with many different bands in Italy from an acoustic large ensemble mixing ethnic influences from India and the Middle East with the ironic spirit of Frank Zappa and folk-inspired architectures modelled on Bela Bartok with the cyclic structures of Terry Riley.
Then a band clearly inspired by King Crimson and British prog-rock, yet another playing a very acid violent and aggressive jazz, one that creating absurdist performances inspired by Dada and Surrealists and one that did some sort of jazzy funk mix of Miles Davis and Nino Rota... well, just about as much of a mix as we could think of...
After a number of years of musical inactivity (1987-1997), years spent mainly doing other creative work in film, photography and multimedia, I have returned to music with solo performances, mainly in London, based on looped guitars and also organising musical gatherings (the Salotti Musicali) where I invite diverse musicians for improvised performances, usually in the context of art events.
I am developing a project that mixes music, acting and storytelling with singer and visual artist Anna Lewenhaupt and a number of brilliant guest musicians...
I have also made two short films on the music of composer and pianist Lola Perrin , part of a series by various authors that Lola uses in her live performances, and I have just completed a television documentary in cooperation with artist and film-maker Katia Beltrame on the Seckou Keita's quartet tour of Senegal and Gambia, one of a series of films on music around the world...
Always eager to share ideas and experiences, I am happy if these pages lead you somewhere interesting and to some fruitful cooperation, do get in touch with proposals for projects and creative initiatives if you feel like.
Roberto
