Cesare Andrea Bixio

Cesare Andrea Bixio, an extremely versatile and creative composer, was born on 11th of October 1896. He soon revealed his musical talent, writing his first song, Suonno e Fantasia, when he was only thirteen years old. He then started to frequent the variety theatre where he would meet the artists and singers who were to launch successfully his repertoire.

In 1920, Bixio founded in Naples the firstBixio Publishing Group bearing his name, that was to become one of the outstanding Italian labels of pop music, particularly soundtracks.

In fact, the invention of sound-film gave Bixio the chance to achieve further goals and become Italy’s most authoritative sound-track composer. In 1930, he wrote the soundtrack of the first Italian talking movie, La Canzone dell’Amore, thus beginning a long and creative collaboration with the cinema, along with a successful co-operation with great performers of lyrical music, including Tito Schipa, Beniamino Gigli, Gino Bechi, Giuseppe Di Stefano and Luciano Pavarotti, to name only a few ones, whose great performances made Bixio's melodies famous all over the world.

Maestro Cesare Andrea Bixio died in Rome on 5th of March 1978.

Giorgio Gaslini

Giorgio Gaslini, a world-famous pianist, composer Milanese, orchestra conductor, is an italian jazz musician who has to his credit some three thousand concerts and one hundred recordings, ten of which has earned him important achievement awards. Ever since the 1960’s, he has brought his music to young audiences in schools, universities, factories, mental hospitals, concert halls, theatres and festival in over 60 nations.

As a contemporary composer, after receiving six diplomas from the Milan Academy of Music, his symphonic works, operas and ballets have been performed all over Italy including La Scala Opera in Milan and the greatest Italian Theatres.
Gaslini is also an active composer for theatre and film. He also has to his credit over forty film soundtracks among which the music for the famous LA NOTTE by Michelangelo Antonioni which received the “Silver Ribbon” prize and PROFONDO ROSSO by Dario Argento.

He was the first to teach jazz courses at the Santa Cecilia Academy of Music in Rome and at the Giuseppe Verdi Academy of Music in Milan. His school and his groups have produced some of Italy’s greatest musicians of today. He is the author of the books: “Total Music” (Feltrinelli), “The Technique and Art of Jazz” (Ricordi) and “The time of the total musician” (Baldini&Castoldi).

From 1991 to 1995 he composed two suites for the “Italian Instabile Orchestra”: PIERROT SOLAIRE and SKIES OF EUROPE. In 1996 he composed and directed MISTER O, the first jazz melodrama in the history of music. Starting in 1997, Soul Note begin to compile Giorgio Gaslini’s complete works on CD.

In 1997 Gaslini created the GASLINI FOUND in Lecco (Villa Gomes) trough his donation of thousand of original recordings and of the music sheets written in his career. The fund is available to musicians and students.

In 2000 he founded his PROXIMA CENTAURI ORCHESTRA (15 musicians).
For his career, Gaslini received in 2002 a special gold award from the Italian President of Republic, reserved to those personalities who chieved particularly remarkable artistic and cultural importance.

In summer 2005 he had a great success with U (ULISSE) in Carsulae (Terni) with his quintet, the Uri Cane trio, Marco Paolini’s text and interpretation, and Arnaldo Pomodoro’s stage designing.

In 2006 Mirasound (Holland) have published in CD his “Sinfonia delle Valli” for two orchestras and choir (150 musicians), directed by Lorenzo Della Fonte; and Velut Luna (Padova) have published in 5 CD his SONG BOOK: 100 songs with composer’s text.

Carlo Rustichelli

Carlo Rustichelli (24 December 1916 - November 13, 2004) was an Italian film composer whose career span went from the 1940s to about 1990. He was very prolific, and his output included about 250 film compositions, as well as arrangements for other films and music for television. He was born in Carpi, Emilia-Romagna to a family of music lovers.

He gained a diploma in piano at the Bologna conservatory and then went to Rome where he studied composition at the Santa Cecilia Academy. He had a wife (Evi), a son (Paolo who is also a composer) and a daughter (Alida). He met Fellini in postwar Rome, and it was probably through him that he met Pietro Germi for whom he composed his first major film score for Gioventù perduta (Lost Yuth), and with whom he was most associated.

He composed music for many Germi films in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. He was best known for the Academy Award-winning soundtrack to Divorce, Italian Style, another Germi film. In 1972 he was commissioned by Billy Wilder to compose the music for Avanti! which starred Jack Lemmon and was filmed in Italy.

Piero Piccioni

Piero Piccioni was born in Turin (Italy) on the 6th December 1921. His mother’s maiden name was Marengo, hence his pseudonym Piero Morgan which he adopted until 1957. He played for the first time on radio in 1938 with his historic “013” Big Band, to return on air only after the liberation of Italy in 1944. His unforgettable “013”, was the first Italian jazz band to be broadcast in Italy after the fall of fascism. His father, Attilio Piccioni, (a prominent member of the Christian Democratic party with the post-war Italian government) would frequently take him to hear concerts at the E.I.A.R. Radio Studios in Florence.

Having listened to jazz throughout his childhood (he dearly loved Art Tatum and Charlie Parker). Without attending studies at the Conservatoire Academy of Music Piero Piccioni became an extremely talented self-taught musician. He was deeply influenced in his use of jazz by 20th century classical composers and American cinematography. Amongst his favourites were Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, John Ford and Alex North. He began writing songs of his own and was soon able to get some of his works published by Carisch editions. Piero Piccioni came into contact with the movie world in Rome during the fifties, when he was a practicing lawyer and was securing movie rights for Italian distributors such as Titanus and De Laurentiis. During that time, Michelangelo Antonioni had called Piero to score a documentary film directed by Luigi Polidoro, one of his apprentices. Piccioni’s first feature film was Gianni Franciolini’s, “Il Mondo le condanna”(1952).

He consequently doffed his “Toga”, for “Music “ He developed close-knit working relationships with directors Francesco Rosi and Alberto Sordi, and established strong personal and professional bonds with them. Many directors sought Piero Piccioni to score the soundtracks for their films: Francesco Rosi, Mario Monicelli, Alberto Lattuada, Luigi Comencini, Luchino Visconti, Antonio Pietrangeli, Bernardo Bertolucci, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Tinto Brass, Dino Risi, and others. Also bearing his name are “Swept Away”,“Tutto A Posto Niente in Ordine” by Lina Wertmuller, “Il bell’Antonio” by Mauro Bolognini, the “Tenth Victim” by Elio Petri, with Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress He credits works for more than 300 soundtracks and compositions for films, radio, television, ballets and orchestra. Among the many prestigious prizes won: David di Donatello Award for the movie “Swept Away” (1975), Nastro d’argento Award for the movie“Salvatore Giuliano” by Francesco Rosi (1963), Prix International Lumiere 1991, Anna Magnani Award 1975 and Vittorio De Sica Award 1979.

Ennio Morricone

Over 500 film scores are proof enough that Ennio Morricone is one of the most sought after film composers. Early on Bixio saw the potential of this young classical composer in the world of film and hired him to compose the music for Luciano Salce’s “The Fascist” in 1961. Fame arrived only 3 years later with the soundtrack of Sergio Leone’s “A fistful of Dollars”, signed under the pseudonym Don Savio. Many more Leone/Morricone features followed throughout the years, as well as other collaborations with influential film directors such as Giuseppe Tornatore, Pedro Almodovar, Carlos Saura, and Federico Fellini.

Morricone’s unique style is recognizable for the particular use of the human voice; unusual instrumental combinations, aggressive rhythms and experimental sounds marked the film music industry. This maestro has composed some of the most original music, from ballads to symphonic overtures, percussive cues, and electronic avant–garde and jazz for a variety of film genres such as Spaghetti Westerns, comedies, dramas, horror movies, thrillers, romances and art movies. His incredible versatility and deep understanding of movies has been rightfully acknowledged by the professionals worldwide, securing him The Golden Lion, a Life Achievement Award, 2 Golden Globes, the Goya Award for best Original Score, a Grammy Award for the Untouchables, as well as 5 Oscar Nominations. Bixio’s vault contains 35 Film scores of Morricone’s early works prior to his Hollywood breakthrough.

These 5 CD’s are an attempt to bring back to light Morricone’s almost forgotten treasures in hope that their timeless beauty will be rediscovered.

Severno Gazzelloni

Severino Gazzelloni was an Italian flute player. He was born in 1919 in Roccasecca and died in 1992 in Cassino. Gazzelloni was the principle flute in the RAI orchestra for 30 years and dedicatee of many works. Composers including Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez and Igor Stravinsky wrote pieces for him. Gazzelloni was also a flute teacher. The jazz player Eric Dolphy was one of his pupils.