LUCIO DALLA - DALLA IN JAZZ

OKeh Records has released Dalla in Jazz, a tribute to the late Italian vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Lucio Dalla (available now as a digital-only release). On March 1, 2012, Dalla, who had a lifelong affiliation with the Sony Music Entertainment family, tragically died from a heart attack in Montreux, Switzerland. Surrounding the first anniversary of his death, OKeh has decided to pay homage to Dalla with a special tribute - Dalla in Jazz, assigning his wonderful songs to the most representative jazz musicians on the Italian scene and letting them choose, arrange and interpret Dalla according to their taste and inspiration.

The album brings together some of the greatest Italian artists in the national and international scene in celebration of Dalla: Paolo Fresu, Stefano di Battista, Gegè Telesforo, Aldo Romano, Maria Pia De Vito, Giovanni Mirabassi, Flavio Boltro, Javier Girotto in duet with Peppe Servillo, Enrico Pieranunzi with Simona Severini, Nick The Nightfly, Fabrizo Bosso and Roberto Gatto together with an inspired Max Gazzè.

Vinicio Capossela adhered enthusiastically as well, with a reinterpretation of "Itaca" to the sonorities of the Greek band he cooperated with in the making of his last two records, making of it a sincere, raging, manly recall to the unknown sea. Dalla in Jazz contains the greatest hits ("Futura," "Com'è profondo il mare," "Caruso," "Attenti al lupo," "Balla balla ballerino") along with some of Dalla's more obscure songs ("Il cielo," "Vita," "Felicità"), but enthusiasm and emotion break out in every track from the very first listen.

In addition to the 13 pieces specifically recorded for the occasion during 2012, the opening track is an exceptional and rare version of Charles Trenet's "La Mer", recorded in 2010, where Lucio sings in counterpoint to Luca Aquino's evocative trumpet and refined electronics.

His career spanning over fifty-years made him a primary artist in Italian pop music. His lyrics and notes have radically renewed and influenced the prolific Italian singer-songwriters tradition, but Dalla is deeply rooted in jazz; it was his first love and remained a burning passion until the end. A vocalist, keyboardist, saxophonist and clarinetist, he was also very fond of bebop (when talking about Charlie Parker, he would become almost transfigured).

Dalla adored jazz of the 1950s and '60s, and this may be one of the reasons why many of his songs, including those that moved and continue moving millions of people, lend themselves well to improvisation and to harmonic and melodic variation on their wonderful themes. His last day in Montreux is somehow the emblem of such boundless love.