VENEGONI & CO - LIVE...SOMEWHERE IN THE SEVENTIES - 1979

Venegoni & Co biography
The band was formed by Luigi "Gigi" Venegoni, ex guitarist of ARTI & MESTIERI. This was an "open" band whith twenty musicians to have collaborated with during the years. A stable nucleus of six musicians who recorded the band's two first LP's on Cramps.

More jazz-rock oriented than ARTI & MESTIERI, Venegoni & Co. ideally close the old italian calssic prog groups. They played in the famous live tribute to Demetrio Stratos of 1979. Their music is instrumental, obviously dominated by Venegoni's fluid and elegant guitar playing.

Though definitely less prog-inspired than the first two Arti & Mestieri albums, both Rumore Rosso and Sarabanda are usually considered an interesting listen for jazz-rock fans in general and for rock progressivo italiano lovers in particular.

Two later studio albums on CD, Nocturne (as a trio with Marco Cimino from ERRATA CORRIGE) and Mosaico were more in a new-age style, while the recent live CD's Rumore Rosso Vivo and Live...somewhere in the seventies... feature registrazione lives from different line-ups in 1978 and 1979. The last one, in particular, has a very good sound's quality.

Info and MP samples from latest Venegoni & Co. and Arti & Mestieri releases can be found on Electromantic Music's website at www.electromantic.com

Review
I'm happy with this inclusion. This is a great band!

With this interesting recent live record lovers of italian classic prog scene and aficionados of jazz rock can really satisfy their choosy ears. The cd collects some live performances of the group at the end of the seventies (1979). Venegoni & Co ideally close the Rock Progressivo Italiano era with the tribute live concert in memory of Demetrio Stratos of Area.

Musicians are all capable and dinamic while sound's quality is unespectetly excellent. Yes, this recently re-discovered work really can be considered as a little live gem! One of the few of so high standard.

Venegoni & Co were formed by guitarist Luigi "Gigi" Venegoni after the famous group Arti & Mestieri's split. The musical behaviour and direction of his band is more jazzy oriented than any of classic albums like Tilt or Giro di Valzer per Domani. We have not another Beppe Crovella here. Well, Silvano Borgatta is a fine keyboardist too but his electric piano cannot be compared with that memorable mellotron drenched jazz rock!

By the way, I think this album can surely please many and is a strong evidence of how varied and complex Rock Progressivo Italiano was then but, at the very same time, how much of importance has melodic' structure in the italian way of life!

Nine elegant performances based mainly on a powerful electric guitar fading out sometimes to leave all the other stuff take the scene: bass, drums, percussions and keyboards, sometimes also whistling.

Highly recommended.
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