One of most internationally renowed diatonic accordeon player meets Ennio Morricone's favorite flutist for an unprecedented musical journey through imaginary soundtracks, world music, a touch of classical, a sprinkling of jazz, and an undying love for progressive rock.
Camerock marks the collaboration between accordionist Riccardo Tesi, a leading figure in international world music, and
classical flutist Paolo Zampini, who worked with Ennio Morricone for 35 years. Their first encounter probably dates back to
July 1956 in the maternity ward of the hospital in Pistoia, as they were born three days apart, but neither of them has a
clear memory of the event.
However, they met again and began to see each other regularly around the age of 13, thanks to a shared passion for Ian
Anderson's Jethro Tull, which sparked their desire to make music themselves.
They decided to enroll in music courses with their town's band, but after a few months of solfeggio, Tesi decided to give up
and embrace the oral tradition, later discovering the diatonic accordion, on which he became one of the most influential
and innovative performers internationally over the years, transcending the narrow confines of world music for crossover
collaborations with artists such as Fabrizio De Andre, Ivano Fossati, Gianluigi Trovesi, Tosca, etc.
Zampini, on the other hand, moved to Rome and chose the academic path, graduating, naturally in flute, until he became
Ennio Morricone's permanent flutist and collaborator with Nicola Piovani, Luis Enriquez Bacalov, Franco Piersanti, Piero
Piccioni, Armando Trovaioli, etc., as well as, later on, the director of the Florence Conservatory.
Some fifty years later, thanks to Paolo's return to his hometown of Pistoia, the two meet again and this time decide that the
time has finally come to bring their instruments together, attempting to merge two musical worlds that seem so distant.
With the collaboration of Pistoia-born pianist Daniele Biagini (in the significant role of co-author and co-arranger), Camerock's
original compositions are born, where the world sound of the diatonic accordion meets the classical sounds of the flute, piano,
and cello, where Chopin swims in the Mediterranean Sea, Ennio Morricone dialogues with Ian Anderson, and music flies free
and without borders.
A palette of sober, twilight colors, refined arrangements, precious rhythmic interlocking, instrumental virtuosity, dreamy
melodies, and an undying love for progressive rock.
"The creative team behind this album consists of Daniele Biagini, Paolo Zampini, and myself. The album consists largely of
original compositions, often written by the four of us, in which you can breathe all the influences that have characterized our
musical journeys and that we have tried to blend in the most coherent and natural way possible.
We couldn't leave out a tribute to Jethro Tull, where it all began! ‘Living in the Past’ is a highly symbolic song for Paolo and
me because it takes us back to our teenage years when we spent our days listening to Ian Anderson and dreaming of becoming
musicians! A dream that we both realized in very different musical fields, but... you never forget your first love!
Working with Paolo finally gave us the opportunity to interpret, in our own way, Ennio Morricone's Nuovo Cinema Paradiso,
one of the most powerful and evocative melodies I know and one that had been running through my head for some time. The
arrangement is mainly the result of Daniele Biagini's creativity, encouraged by myself to go beyond the original, to be daring.
(Riccardo Tesi)
Daniele Biagini is an eclectic and versatile pianist. After graduating from the Conservatory, he devoted himself to exploring
other musical contexts ranging from progressive to new wave and jazz! In the past, he has worked with Tuxedomoon and
Steven Brown, among others, and is a long-time collaborator of Riccardo Tesi, with whom he arranged and recorded the album
Cameristico in 2015. Together, they also composed the music for the 2018 theater production Calendar Girls, directed by
Cristina Pezzoli and starring Angela Finocchiaro.
Completing the quartet is Enrico Guerzoni on cello, a true virtuoso of the instrument who boasts an impressive resume in both
classical music (Muti, Berio, Sinopoli, Sciarrino, Pavarotti, Solisti Veneti, etc.) and pop (Bocelli, E. Finardi, Zucchero, L.
Dalla, A. Celentano, V. Capossela, etc.) and jazz (P. Fresu, B. McFerrin, D. Rea, M. Isham, etc.).
BIOGRAPHY
RICCARDO TESI
An internationally renowned composer and accordionist, he is considered one of the most daring and influential musicians
on the European world music scene.An instrumentalist with an unmistakable style, he is one of the pioneers of the
rediscovery of the diatonic accordion in Italy, a popular instrument whose language he has revolutionized and whose
vocabulary he has expanded beyond tradition.
A tireless crosser of geographical and stylistic boundaries throughout his thirty-year career, he has collaborated with
prestigious names in Italian and international world music (C. Bueno, E. Ledda, Lucilla Galeazzi, D. Sepe, P. Vaillant, J.
Kirkpatrick, J. Vali, M. Perrone, K. Junkera, La Bottine Souriante), jazz (S. Bollani, G. Mirabassi, G. Trovesi, M.P. De
Vito), rock (Piero Pelù, PGR, Skiantos) and even great singer-songwriters (F. De Andrè, I. Fossati, G.M.Testa, G.Gaber,
Tosca, C.Donà, O.Vanoni, etc.).
Leader of Banditaliana, one of Italy's most internationally acclaimed world music groups, and member of Samurai, a quintet
of European accordion all-stars, he has played at the most important European folk and jazz festivals and toured frequently
in Australia, Canada, and Japan.
In 2014, he curated the new edition of Bella Ciao to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the most important show in the history
of Italian folk music. He has recorded 29 albums under his own name or as co-owner, including numerous original
productions dedicated to ballroom dancing and traditional Tuscan and Emilian music. He has composed music for cinema
(La lingua del santo and L'amore ritrovato by Carlo Mazzacurati, Liscio by Claudio Antonini with Laura Morante) and for
theater (Calendar Girls with Angela Finocchiaro).
Active in the field of education, he has taught at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Catanzaro.
PAOLO ZAMPINI
Born in Pistoia in 1956, flutist, he has been performing in concerts for more than 45 years, both as a soloist and as a member
of important orchestras and ensembles, such as the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the RAI National
Symphony Orchestra, the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra, Gruppo di Roma, the AMIT Orchestra, and the Ensemble dei Solisti
dell'Accademia Filarmonica Romana.
As a soloist, Paolo Zampini has recorded hundreds of film soundtracks with Bill Conti, Jerry Goldsmith, Pino Donaggio, Riz
Ortolani, Piero Piccioni, and Oscar winners Ennio Morricone, Nicola Piovani, and Luis Enriquez Bacalov, working closely
with directors such as Brian De Palma, Federico Fellini, Roman Polanski, Warren Beatty, Giuseppe Tornatore, and Franco
Zeffirelli.
One of Ennio Morricone's favorite performers, Paolo Zampini has been playing the Maestro's chamber and film music for 35
years and has recorded numerous CDs and videos with him. Paolo Zampini has performed concerts all over the world with
Ennio Morricone and other ensembles.
Since 1980, he has taught transverse flute in state conservatories, ending his career at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in
Florence, where he was also Director from 2015 to 2021.