Genre
World music, blues, and Neapolitan folk. A densely collaborative album built on thirteen original compositions in Neapolitan and Italian, the record weaves the rhythmic traditions of the Bottari di Portici - wine barrels and agricultural tools used as percussion - with saxophone, electric guitar, and the contrasting voices of a cast of guest artists spanning Italian, African, and Anglo-American music.
Release
Released on March 20, 2012, by Compagnia Nuove Indye (CNI Music). Guest collaborators include Renato Zero, Giorgia, Alessandro Mannarino, Francesco De Gregori, Francesco Guccini, Franco Battiato, Raiz, and Mauro Pagani, alongside Bob Geldof, David Crosby, and Daby Touré.
Production
All music, lyrics, and arrangements are by Enzo Avitabile; artistic production by Andrea Aragosa, Avitabile's longtime collaborator. The album's sonic identity is shaped by the Bottari di Portici, a percussion ensemble rooted in a centuries-old tradition of Portici - the town at the foot of Vesuvius - whose instruments include wine barrels struck with wooden sticks, scythes, and other agricultural implements.
Reception
The album won the Targa Tenco 2012 for best album - one of the most prestigious awards in Italian popular music - confirming Avitabile's standing at the forefront of the Italian music scene. The Italian music press praised its emotional and spiritual depth, and the "Lost Highways" review described it as "a casket of thirteen perfect pearls, dirty with mud or lustrous with joy," urging listeners to experience it "with the heart." Jonathan Demme's documentary film Enzo Avitabile Music Life, presented at the Venice Film Festival the same year, brought renewed international attention to his work.
Enzo Avitabile
Vincenzo "Enzo" Avitabile (born March 1, 1955, Naples) is an Italian saxophonist, composer, and singer-songwriter who plays a fusion of world music and jazz fusion rooted in Neapolitan traditions and language. A graduate in flute from the Naples Conservatory, he launched his recording career in 1982 with the collaboration of Richie Havens, and went on to work with James Brown, Afrika Bambaataa, Khaled, Manu Dibango, Bob Geldof, and David Crosby, among many others. Since 2000 he has performed with the Bottari di Portici, whose ancient percussion tradition he has placed at the centre of his artistic identity. His accolades include two Targhe Tenco, two David di Donatello Awards, three Nastri d'Argento, and four BBC World Music Award nominations.
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