The Neapolitan Avantgarde Quartet is Antonio Onorato’s new musical project, which brings together the quintessence of contemporary Neapolitan instrumental music: a highly original fusion, balancing Neapolitan melodic tradition, African-American improvisation and Mediterranean-flavoured sound experimentation.
The quartet features:
Antonio Onorato – guitars
Mario De Paola – drums
Gianni D’Argenzio – saxophone
Angelo Farias – electric bass.
Antonio Onorato Newpolitan Band is a new musical project that will take the Italian guitarist and composer’s typical sunny Mediterranean sound on tour.
Antonio’s use of ‘breath guitar’ and ‘Neapolitan’ jazz phrasing make him unique on the world music scene. This new journey starts from the sounds of the first album “Gaga” (1990) to “Lakota Blues” (2023), moving from Brazilian atmospheres to American Indians, from jazz to rock-blues, to experimentation and avant-garde, but with the Neapolitan melodic tradition always in their heart.
The band is composed of: Antonio Onorato – guitars; Alessandro La Corte – piano and keyboards, Peppe Arena – bass, Mario De Paola – drums, Antonio Montuori – percussion, Oreste Vitolo – percussion.
The artistic collaboration between Antonio Onorato and Toninho Horta, “The King of Harmony” – so defined by Carlos Antonio Jobim – started in 2000 and their friendship was already sealed in Onorato’s CD Un Grande Abbraccio.
Exactly 10 years later, they begin recording a CD in a duet in which the music of Onorato merges with that of Horta and viceversa; projects, From Napoli to Belo Horizonte, which is the title of the album, includes original pieces by the two artists, but also classic Neapolitan songs and mineira which meets, creating a strong link between the two cultures, seemingly so far away, but in music, so close and assonant.
“With this project, Onorato sets a path that leaves no doubt. The Horizon is African American, but lived on the basis of a number of indigenous colours that brightens its mainstream memory leak tarantellesche or Saracens, who allow themselves to take in from the omnivorous power of jazz improvisation as a phoenix that rises from its own ashes more, at each notice of reckless “De Profundis”.
Covering his 25-year career and some of his most famous CDs, the guitar virtuoso will play pieces from his discography on his Gibson 175, acoustic and classical guitar and breath guitar. Angelo Farias on bass and Mario De Paola on drums will accompany him on this journey through Mediterranean flavours and the colours of Africa, the Americas and the Middle East.
A trip around the world, in countries where Antonio Onorato has brought his music and where it has been confronted with different cultures on an equal level of mutual human exchange and enrichment. This musical journey will depart from Naples, a city of Onorato, to arrive in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, India and then return to his origins in southern Italy. The atmosphere will be created thanks to its “special guitar” from the acoustic to the double neck, guitar, breath guitar, the sitar, and tunings used, many of them invented by the musician himself
Antonio Onorato, Gigi Cifarelli, Fabio Mariani: three of the most outstanding Italian jazz guitarists together in an extraordinary musical project…
- Antonio Onorato, Fabio Mariani, Gigi Cifarelli, Guitars
- Maurizio Rolli, Basso
- Matteo Frigerio, Drums
The Onorato-Cannon-De Paola builds a bridge between Naples and New York, between the Mediterranean/Parthenopean melodic tradition and the Afro-American one.
Antonio Onorato, multifaceted jazz guitarist and composer as well as a leading exponent of NEAPOLITAN POWER, a musical movement born in Naples and represented by musicians such as Pino Daniele, James Senese, Tullio de Piscopo, meets the eminent double bass of Gerald Cannon, considered the natural heir of Ron Carter and current member of Mc Coy Tyner’s band, legendary pianist of John Coltrane.
The two jazz musicians will be supported by the refined but powerful drumming of Mario De Paola, one of the best Italian drummers.
- Antonio Onorato, Guitar, Breaht Guitar
- Gerald Cannon, double bass
- Mario De Paola, Drums