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| The Italian session aces I Marc 4 – who worked with Armando Trovajoli, Gianni Ferrio & Piero Umiliani – get the spotlight. |
In the era immediately following WWII, Italy experienced an economic recovery incomparable to any other Western European country. The Italian state transformed from a mostly rural nation into a global industrial power. A newly wealthy class of Italians bought new appliances, elegant clothes, and sleek sports cars. This was La Dolce Vita: the sweet life.
Italian films followed suit – they presented Italy to the outside world as romantic, sophisticated, and aspirational. The film soundtracks, composed by masters like Stelvio Cipriani, Ennio Morricone, and Piero Umiliani, are plush mood pieces, rich with exotic instrumentation and performed by world-class studio musicians. They are the most potent cultural artefacts from this era.
Italian studio musicians Maurizio Majorana (bass), Carlo Pes (guitar), Roberto Podio (drums), and Antonello Vannucchi (organ) came together as I Marc 4 for their self-titled sound library recording in collaboration with Stefano Torossi (aka "Fotriafa") for the Nelson label in 1970. They went on to work with soundtrack maestros Armando Trovajoli, Gianni Ferrio and Piero Umiliani to develop into one of the defining groups of the Italian library music era.
Check out their amazing Latin, folk, and classical inflected recordings presented by SONOR Music Editions right here. For more on I Marc 4, visit the SONOR Music Editions site here, and The Sixth Dimension site over here.
You can continue living la dolce vita with two more hours of sophisticated '60s and '70s sounds from Italy on the NTS Radio Guide To Italian Sound Library, Soundtracks and OST Recordings right here.
