MUSIC BETWEEN TRADITION AND (POST)MODERNITY. New Mediterranean Proposals: Campania, Puglia & Sicily

“Talking about music is like dancing about architecture”. Whether this was  uttered by Frank Zappa, Elvis Costello or someone else, this  is a quote that inspire reflection.


i-Italy, in collaboration with ANFE-SICILIA and Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò (NYU), invites you to a meeting with artists Roy Paci & Aretusca, Mauro Pagani, Marco Cappelli and the “Sun”. They will discuss about their musical roots, focusing on how these are connected to contemporary questions and new generation issues.


On October 13 at 6:00 PM at Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò, there won't be just a conversation among experts in the field: the musicians will be asked to share with words and notes their personal experiences as artists focused on reinterpreting Italian musical tradition in a contemporary key.


Agreeing that "talking about music is like dancing about architecture", moderators George De Stefano and Letizia Airos will invite them to evoque, between a performance and the other, more than just happenings, but also emotions and reflections that have accompanyied them throughout their musical career




The artists:



SUN

The Sicilian trio SUN consists of Dario Sulis (vocals, percussions), Alessandro Palacino (saxophone and flutes) and Diego Spitaleri (piano and keyboards). SUN's first album, "ETHINICITY", was first released in 1997 by the R.T.I. Music label. Teatro del Sole has recently re-released it. The trio's ethnic-Mediterranean music also draws on ambient, new age and jazz elements.  

 
In September 2000, SUN received the MEMORY Award from the Foggia Jazz Festival. SUN performed for the United Nations summit held in Palermo in December 2000. In 2001, the trio recorded a live performance, Scarlatti Rendering, at Palermo's Teatro Massimo, where they presented their music in honor of the legendary Sicilian baroque composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Not only does SUN experiment with their own interpretation of past compositions, but they have also collaborated with musicians to recreate classical music. At Taormina, Sicily's TEATRO GRECO they performed their own interpretations of various Bach violin sonatas.  

 
In 2004, the trio performed their music and lectured on their unique musical style and composition throughout venues in the United States. Film and television producers even use SUN's music - most recently their music created the soundtrack for a DVD on Italian immigration to Argentina, and a short "Chi Sei?" by Giuseppe Gigliorosso.

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ROY PACI AND ARETUSKA

Sicilian composer, trumpeter, and bandleader Rosario “Roy” Paci is one of the most creative and exciting musicians on the contemporary scene, an innovator whose popularity stretches from Italy and Europe to Latin America and beyond. His band Aretuska is composed of musicians from Sicily, Italy, Latin America and Africa. Paci has released four albums with Aretuska, the first being "Baciamo le mani" (2001). On his own label Etnagigante he released "Tuttapposto" (2003), "Parola D'Onore" (2005) and "Suonoglobal (2007). In 2008, he released “Bestiario Siciliano,” a compilation of his work with Aretuska that also featured three new songs and a DVD of the band in concert.

 

Paci and Aretuska’s music is a fusion of Sicilian elements and the international rhythms of jazz, rock steady, reggae, ska, soul, and funk.  

 

Throughout his career, Roy Paci has traveled throughout the world, constantly enriching his musical palette with new and traditional rhythms, from samba to Indian banghra.

In 2007, Paci had a massive international hit with “Toda Joya, Toda Belleza,” an irresistibly catchy samba that captivated listeners – and dancers – from Palermo to Rio de Janeiro.

 

Paci’s connection to Latin America is strong and deep. From 1990-1994, he performed with groups and solo artists such as Musica Popolar Do Brasil, Selma Reis in Brazil and Argentina, and the T.Rio Blanco in Montevideo.

He also appears in the 2006 film, “The True Legend of Tony Vilar,” about an Italo-Argentine singer. Paci is seen in a dream sequence set in New York City. 

Paci often writes lyrics in Spanish, as well as in Italian, and in a hybrid lingo he calls “italoño” that incorporates Spanish, Italian, Sicilian and English.   

 

The artists with whom he has collaborated during his more than 25-year career include Manu Chao, Vinicio Capossela, Amadou and Mariam, Piero Pelù, Raiz, Samuele Bersani, Nicola Arigliano, Cesare Basile, 99 Posse, Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters, Mau Mau, Subsonica, Eric Mingus, Carlo Actis Dato, Sean Bergin, Flying Luttembachers, New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, Negrita, Jovanotti, Caparezza, Sud Sound System.