Perigeo - Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere 1973

Perigeo was a musical project born in 1971 from Giovanni Tommaso. The original lineup included five members, Tommaso himself at the bass, Bruno Biriaco on drums, Claudio Fasoli at sax, Tony Sidney at guitar and Franco D'Andrea on piano, the band released seven studio albums 'till his definitive breakup in 1981.The band offers a sort of jazz-rock sound inspired by Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew". This early form of fusion initially meets the resistance of so-called "purists" of jazz, but soon attract the sympathy of many fans, earning invitations to major national festivals, but also a series of concerts in Europe, especially in England and France. In 1972 the group comes out with their debut album, Azimut, the jazz roots of the five musicians are already evident, even if the sound is rather static. Abbiamo tutti un blues da piangere, released the following year, proves itself far superior, both for the virtuosity of each musician and for the greater complexity and expressiveness of the tracks; this album marks the origin of Italian jazz-rock and jazz-prog, which is the first true embodiment of modernity brought by Tommaso. The 1974 is the year of Genealogia, an album more ''accessible'' than the previous and it's marked by an increased use of synthesizers, with the coming of moog, played by Tommaso himself. The release is even more rich and varied, with a brilliant mix of music genres: the rhythms and harmonies have a conformation more rock than before, even if the group is more alive than ever. Genealogia give to Perigeo an excellent feedback from critics and soon the band became one of the great classics of Italian prog-rock. After a triumphant European tour with the Weather Report in 1975, Perigeo is back with his 4th studio album La valle dei templi it 's a revolutionary album, more vital and dynamic than previous three, especially in the rhythm section: the credit is mainly due to the intervention of Neapolitan drummer Tony Esposito. With this last release the group also achieved a commercial success, consecrating the Perigeo as one of the best reality of the Italian rock of the period. The next year sign the end of the jazz-rock style with Non e' poi cosi' lontano, while the album still shows the technical abilities of the individual components, it's contamined by pop tunes, after this disappointing release the group members began to devote themselves entirely to the career of sessionmen, a number of external collaborations and also their solo careers.
In 1980, the five came back together under the name of 'Special Perigeo', only to achieve the double concept album Alice, inspired by the life of Lewis Carroll, author of the novel ''Alice in Wonderland'' in addition of the old repertory of jazz-rock fusion, the work turns into a sophisticated pop, with the participation of many italian artists. Shortly after, Giovanni Tommaso gives life to the New Perigeo, the lineup consists entirely of new members: Maurizio Giammarco (sax-high-soprano, flute and choir), Carlo Pennisi (electric guitar, acoustic and vocals), Danilo Rea (piano, keyboards, marimba and vocals), Agostino Marangolo, formerly of Goblin (drums). At the end of 1980, the RCA promotes a project with a promotional tour along with New Perigeo, Rino Gaetano and Riccardo Cocciante. From concerts, they make an EP titled Q-Concert, finally in 1981 the New Perigeo release the last studio album Effetto Amore without any success. Although the project was of short duration, Perigeo was certainly the most successful attempt at fusion of jazz and rock happened in Italy, thanks to a careful balance between improvisation and structured music.

Line-up / Musicians

Bruno Biriaco/drums,percussion
Franco D'Andrea/pianos
Claudio Fasoli/saxophone
Tony Sidney/guitar
Giovanni Tommaso/vocals,bass

Discography(Album)

Abbiamo Tutti un Blues da Piangere 1973