The QUANAH PARKER progressive rock band has a long and venerable history that really makes it one of the pioneer bands of the so-called ‘Neo-Prog’ current. First active in 1981-1985 with a line-up made of Riccardo Scivales (keyboards/composition), Roberto Noè (guitars/vocals), Alessandro Monti and/or Alfio Bellunato and Maddalena Cutaia (lead vocals), Roberto Veronese or Giorgio Salvadego (bass) and Giuliano Bianco (drums), this band played originals mostly written by Riccardo Scivales and brilliantly recorded as demos by sound engineer Roberto Lucano. That line-up sometimes also included guest musicians such as Francesco Calabrò (bass) and Franco Moruzzi (drums). The band was highly regarded and performed successfully, but the compulsory military service then caused various troubles that finally forced to disband in 1985.
Following the renewed interest around Prog music (and also at many early fans’s suggestion), in late 2005 Riccardo Scivales re-founded Quanah Parker along with Giovanni Pirrotta (guitars), Andrea Cuzzolin (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Giorgio Salvadego (bass), and Paolo Ongaro (drums). This new incarnation of Quanah Parker plays Scivales’s old and new originals as well as many covers of Yes, Rick Wakeman, Jethro Tull, Genesis and Beatles classics. It has successfully performed in important international reviews such as Musica Continua 2006/2007 (Mestre-Venezia) and has produced a Demovideo DVD that has gained very favourable reviews.
Solo piano arrangements of some of Scivales’s Quanah Parker originals have also been published in the prestigious PIANO TODAY US magazine and have consequently been performed by various musicians around the world.
line-up evolution & bio's
Fall 2007 Francesco Calabrò replaces Giorgio Salvadego on bass;
Summer 2008 QP play a series of concerts with their original drummer Giuliano Bianco;
Jan 2009 Andrea Cuzzolin leaves the band; after a brief spell with Sara Righetto, QP's new vocalist is now Elisabetta Montino.
RICCARDO SCIVALES (keyboards/composition)
>>founder of the first incarnation Quanah Parker (1981-1985) and of the Afro-Cuban combo Mi Ritmo (1995-2004) >>pianist and composer for various stage productions and cocktail pianist in Venezia >>his Afro-Cuban originals have been arranged by Giannantonio Mutto and performed by Italian and American classical ensembles >>his transcriptions of stride piano recordings have been recorded and performed by famous specialists such as Marco Fumo, Alan Feinberg, Massimiliano Damerini, Meral Guneyman, Donna Coleman, Sue Keller… >>author of two dozens piano books and methods mostly published in the USA by Ekay Music, Steinway & Sons, and Kjos Music >>Contributing Editor of Piano Today and Sheet Music Magazine (USA) >>about two hundred of his compositions, arrangements, transcriptions and articles on prog rock, jazz and Latin music also published in such leading magazines as The Piano Stylist, Keyboard Classics, Musica Oggi, Ring Shout, Rassegna Veneta di Studi Musicali, Jazz, Musica Jazz, Venezia Arti… >>translator of all the Italian editions of the Bastien piano method (Kjos Music/Rugginenti Editore) >>Collaboratore all’orchestrazione of the Italian première of Gershwin’s musical Lady, Be Good! (Venezia, PalaFenice, 2000) >>professor (since 1999) of Civiltà Musicale Afroamericana at the Venice University of Cà Foscari >>teacher in the Laboratorio di Composizione e Improvvisazione of the Corso di Letteratura Pianistica Afroamericana at the Conservatorio of Castelfranco Veneto (2005-2007) >>modern piano & keyboards educator in several music schools >>performed and lectured at some festivals and conservatories, CDpM of Bergamo, Accademia Tadini of Lovere, Musica dalle due Americhe (Lecco, with Giorgio Gaslini) and Settimane Musicali Montelliane (Montebelluna) >>author of about three hundred radio programs on jazz history for RAI-RadioTre and of liner notes and booklets for several recordings >>also worked with Bruno Gennaro, Roberto Rusconi, Marco Fumo, Claudio Angeleri, Alessandro Bedendo, Donella Del Monaco, Ale Pasqual, Moreno Marchesin, Mattia and Andrea Ghion.
GIOVANNI PIRROTTA (electric guitar)
>>graduated in Modern Guitar (acustica-elettrica) in 2002 with Donato Begotti at the CPM-Centro Professione Musica in Milano >>specialized in Musicoterapia at The Revival of the Classic Art school of Milano >>studied with Massimo Scattolin (classical guitar), Roberto Ortolan (blues guitar) and Giorgio Pisciotta (jazz guitar) >>courses with Franco Mussida, Frank Gambale, Maurizio Colonna, Walter Calloni, Lucio Dalla, Greg Bissonette, Jennifer Button, Massimo Varini, Luca Colombo, Paul Reed Smith, Andy Timmons >>electric guitar teacher in various music schools in Milano, Venezia and Treviso since 1998 >>lead guitarist with the Martina Group orchestra (2000-2005) >>lead guitarist with the country-rock band Fool Brand (since 2003) >>in 2005 he started collaborating with Riccardo Scivales to the re-foundation of Quanah Parker.
FRANCESCO CALABRO’ (bass guitar)
>>basic training under double-bassist Vanni Gobbo and "Perfect Pitch" Gianfranco Viola >>in the early 80s, he was in an embryonic Blue Note Orchestra in Treviso and in the Venetian band Ruins >>after a 20-year break, he came back to 'active' music attending to workshops and classes directed by Francesco Cusa, Alfonso Santimone and others >>first contact with Quanah Parker in 1983 - and he retained a nice memory of their songs...
PAOLO ONGARO (drums)
>>studied with great drummers as Moreno Teso and Camillo Colleluori >>Lars Ulrich, Mike Portnoy and Christian Meyer among his foremost sources of inspiration >>played blues, reggae, pop, rock and metal music with various local bands >>co-founder of the valued prog-metal band Soul Mirror >>currently completing his drums course at Franco Rossi’s Accademia Musica Moderna >>drums teacher in various music schools of the Venetian area >>joined Riccardo Scivales’s new Quanah Parker band in 2006.
ELISABETTA MONTINO (vocals)
bio coming soon...
MASSIMILIANO CONTI (alternate drummer)
bio coming soon...
