The “Author’s Proof” in Italian by Mario Biondi

This year Mario Biondi celebrates twenty years of an international career, during which he collaborated with artists of the caliber of Gregory Porter and performed in prestigious locations such as the Royal Albert Hall in London – singing mainly in English. His new album – available from Friday 10 April on digital and CD and from 1 May on collectible vinyl – is entitled “Prova d’autore”, but this is not a matter of false modesty, it is the first album in Italian of which he is the interpreter, author and composer and for which he took care of the arrangements and production.
“The Italian project has been in the works for a long time and was waiting for the right moment to jump out of the artist’s famous drawer. And what better occasion than the celebrations for the twentieth anniversary of “This is what you are” and “Handful of soul”?” says Mario Biondi, who has just returned from the first stages of the European tour in Zurich, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bern, Tallinn and Prague. The title reflects not only the path of this project, but also its way of being. “I question myself a lot, I’m my own first critic, I’m never one hundred percent satisfied. It’s not easy to listen to yourself again or pat yourself on the back, even if that moment arrives in the end.”
Especially after countless work sessions. “The approach in the studio has changed compared to the past – he explains – time passes and inevitably changes you. You mature in accepting yourself, you learn to love what you listen to and to justify the thing you don’t like or that isn’t what you imagined”.

The voice as an instrument

In the album we listen to more classic atmospheric ballads like “This evening”, more rhythmic songs like “Tira sassi”, very autobiographical songs like “Cielo stellato”, songs with a warm Mediterranean flavor for a summer groove like “Ai ai ai”, others more jazzy like “Cinica”. There are also many songs that fit into the tradition of conversational phrasing of vocal jazz, where the vocal line is modeled as a story.
“For me, the voice is fundamental, it is the first instrument ever. Each song finds its own identity, has its own character and gradually declares it. And the collaborations with other musicians make the personalities of the songs jump out in an explosive way.”
And in the end, Mario Biondi can give himself that pat on the back. “To finish a project you have to listen to it hundreds and thousands of times, you have to be able to detach yourself a little from your bond with the writing, with the vocality, from the emotional bond with a certain type of expression. You have to wait. Listening to it again after some time, right around the time of publication, I have the sensation that it is leavening. It’s a living project, I always find new facets that emerge with each listen.”

The tour

The release will be accompanied by a tour, which will start from “Handful of Soul” and his entire career to arrive at the new album.
“The value of playing live is immeasurable, even more so when you have beside you some out of class players who have demonstrated over the years that they make masterful use of the instrument,” he comments, referring to his stage companions: Maestro Antonio Faraò, one of the most important Italian jazz pianists at an international level, Massimo Greco (multi-instrumentalist and musical director), Matteo Cutello (trumpet), Giovanni Cutello (saxophone), Ameen Saleem (bass), Devid Florio (percussion, guitar and flute). and David Haynes (drums), who in some shows will give way to Nicolas Viccaro (drums) or Francesca Remigi (drums).
“The arrangements will be personalized, always in line with what soul is, also because by celebrating twenty years I don’t want to say that what has been done is old, on the contrary. That sound and those sounds are evergreen”.
The theater tour will be inaugurated on May 3 in Crema and then touch Bologna, Milan, Turin, Florence, Bari, Rome, Naples and Catania. After a very short break it will resume in the summer and then again between autumn and winter. As always, Mario Biondi combines his activity in Italy with concerts abroad, which will see him perform in Budapest, Tirana, Paris, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Saarbrucken and Split. To then culminate in a live event for the twentieth anniversary, yet to be announced.
“If I were to precisely analyze the entire journey made in these twenty years I would find some flaws, I’m more than certain. On average, however, I find the balance quite positive.” And this was also demonstrated by the affection with which the public welcomed him on the occasion of his appearance at the last Sanremo Festival as a guest, together with Alex Britti, of Sayf with the cover of “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles.
“The dialogue with younger artists and the generational comparison interests me when it is with people and characters who have something to say. First of all on a personal level, and Sayf is a beautiful person, and then artistically. The fact that he studies, prepares and questions himself is a peculiarity that I really appreciate”.

Projects for the next twenty years

Before saying goodbye, we can only tease him about the next musical challenge he is aiming for after the Italian album. “Of course there is, there always is. There will be something new later, now is the time to enjoy the twenty songs of ‘Prova d’autore’. There is a lot of work to assimilate and listen to”.