Luciano Federighi (English

Luciano Federighi: Still blue and sentimental

By Edoardo Fassio Italian author LUCIANO FEDERIGHI has given an invaluable contribution to music criticism in decades of riveting articles, lectures and radio broadcasts. His extensive bibliography includes Blues on My Mind, an essay on blues topics and poetics, Blue & Sentimental, devoted to the American vocal universe of the mid-twentieth century, and the three volumes of Istrioni e sirene, a series of monographs that span jazz, soul, pop and blues, in alphabetical order, from Johnny Adams to O.V. Wright. But Luciano is also a classy performer; a one-of-a-kind singersongwriter in blues, equipped with a surreal vein and corroborated by his encyclopedic knowledge of the forms and contents of the African American songbook and the classic noir-pulp literature. Armed with a deep, relaxed and vaguely threatening voice, he enriches his stanzas with metaphors and double-entendre lines, suspended between laconic sarcasm and hallucinatory restlessness. Federighi walks the same backstreets that belonged to Chet Baker, Paolo Conte, Percy Mayfield, Henri Salvador, Dr. John and Tom Waits, an uncomfortable neighborhood for lonely and broken hearts. No surprise, his own website is named Lonelyville Records http://lonelyvillerecords.com/. In a tragic year for entertainment, Federighi has released two albums, thus bringing his personal discography to the double digit. Viareggio and Other Imaginary Places throws a nostalgic glance to his hometown on the Versilian riviera, though the recordings, in which Luciano, on vocals and piano, is accompanied by saxophonist Davide Dal Pozzolo, took place in Turin. Dark, melancholic and claustrophobic themes dwell with sentimental turns and salacious humor, always in need of “A Sabbatical From The Blues”. The subsequent October Land is also a fourhanded job. A partnership with Andrea Garibaldi, a pianist and arranger, it is a successful experiment in impressionism, all about the blues of desolation and apprehension. It reports of an insecure land, populated by ghosts, and there is even a tribute to Mel Tormé in “The House Is Haunted By The Echo of Your Last Goodbye”. Out of these most threatening stories, Luciano apparently secretes a calm and positive force. True to the nature and the more-than-a-century-old history of the genre, he makes good use of the blues to come to the rescue of those who are afflicted by the blues itself. http://www.ird.it/appaloosa/?q=node/506788 https://open.spotify.com/artist/ 5frmD9KTSna1tv8ddphBx8

Bert Wills

Legendary Texas Singer/Songwriter Bert Wills Delivers The Goods

Down in southeastern Texas lives a man that was born in rural Kentucky but moved to Texas years ago. He came here playing the blues harp with a slow, winding country bent to it, part of his Kentucky roots, and the recording industry was quick to pick up on his unique sound. Abilities is used in the plural here and that’s because the man not only wails a mean harp but his guitar work is aces as well. His name is Bert Wills and if you are a studio musician you know that name well as the man is sought after by many producers. One of those producers is Andy Bradley, known world wide for his talents at the console, his past co-ownership in of SugarHill Studios, and his successful book titled, “House Of Hits”. Bert and Andy go back a ways, 35 years to be exact, both know each other’s talents well so it would be of no big surprise that they could team on a compilation of Bert’s songs for a new album. It would not be their first collaboration as Andy has recorded nearly every album Bert has presented to the world. A new album has come to life recently simply titled “Bert Wills”. It’s just being shipped to radio stations right now and let me tell you whether you are a blues fan or an Americana fan or both this album is packed with stirring and riveting selections. Both men have similar personalities, friendly but direct. Both will tell you where to go in a New York second if you are a poser and both will be the first to tell you how welcomed you are if you are the real deal. Bert is known throughout the industry internationally and has worked with a ton of well known stars over the years. He’s also an accomplished songwriter and when he puts his Kentucky roots into a song well Katy bar the door because it’s going to be good. His last gig was with Nashville artist Rob McNurlin who is part of the Marty Stuart clan. Then he returned to Texas to work on his new blues Americana album. The end result was a fourteen track collection of 13 original 24 Rock and Blues International • November 2020 songs and one cover, not a klunker among them. On the collection you can hear the raw strains of good back woods country music in Bert’s voice and on the same collection you will hear some of the best blues you have heard in years. To learn more access www.bertwillsmusic.com

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