Also see: Beppe Crovella ~ Vigevano Prog Festival '99 ~ Prog Day 2003 ~ Baja Prog 2004
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 10:19:34 -0800 From: David Levkovitz <>
Subject: RE: Arti & Mestieri
> Hi, greetings from Italy to everyone in the group. Does anybody knows Italian
prog band ARTI & MESTIERI ?
Based on their first LP, Tilt, I consider them one of the best Italian bands of
the 70's. It may be one of the best examples of combining classic progressive
with fusion, ever. There are more great melodies on this one album than most
bands can create in their entire career. And the musicianship is world class at
every position, especially Furio Chirico on drums. Obviously the instrumentation
is dated, but if you can get past that, it's a great album. Their second album
leaned a little more toward jazz and was still great, but didn't have the
"magic" of the first.
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 12:13:38 -0500 From: stevesly@aol.com Subject: Arti &
Mestieri
> Hi, greetings from Italy to everyone in the group. Does anybody knows italian
prog band ARTI & MESTIERI ?
I am one of the organizers of the Progday festival here in the U.S. We had Arti
& Mestieri play our festival last year and they were very good.
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 15:05:06 -0000 From: "immagini_per_un_orecchio" <>
Subject: Re: NEW ENTRY from Italy / ARTI & MESTIERI
--- In e-Prog@yahoogroups.com, Jean-Fran?is Baland <> wrote: >
Yes, a fantastic band with a crazy drummer "Chiciro" or something like that.
############# Yes, FURIO CHIRICO; someone describe him as a mix of BRUFORD and
CHRISTIAN VANDER ( ! ); a lefthand drummer that plays specular drum.
> I saw him once (some twenty years ago ?) and it was estonishing. He looks
########## really ? where ?
The band is on the road again; after a new stidio cd in 2000 ( MURALES ) are now
playing some gigs with all old tracks from TILT and GIRO DI VALZER albums. Next
is at BAJAPROG.
From: "Gerald Van Waes" <> Date: Wed Jan 7, 2004
5:55 pm
Subject: Re: [e-Prog] Re: Italian Prog Groups
It (Tilt) sounds slightly 70's dated to me. Not bad at all, but it's not amongst
my favourites, Some interesting elements, sure, if you don't mind a more very
typical 70's
sound.
From: David Levkovitz Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 11:10 PM
Subject: RE: [e-Prog] Re: Italian Prog Groups
Tilt is one of the best Italian albums ever! To me it sounds sort of like a
cross between PFM (melodically) and 70's fusion (chops and improvisation). The
follow up was not as good, IMHO, but still great. The early 90's release was on
the very jazzy side. If you're a fan of drummers, Furio Chirico will blow you
away. He is one of the best ever. He's so fast, clean and creative it's scarry.
From: Craig Shipley [mailto:mr_ship@bellsouth.net] Sent: Tuesday, January 06,
2004 6:54 PM
Subject: RE: [e-Prog] Re: Italian Prog Groups
I have 'Tilt!" on CD and it is much more electronic that the jazzier, Zappa-ish
"Giro". I did a write-up on the "Giro" CD release and lo and behold, I could
still find it! Here 'tis!:
"Have you heard Arti + Mestieri? "Giro di Valzer Per Domani" starts out with a
very Mother's-era Zappa-ish woodwinds-based piece and Zappa's influence can be
heard all over this CD (the back-cover photo is very reminiscent of the
back-of-the-band photo from "We're Only In It For The Money"). Two ARP players
(one, Beppe Crovello, also on other keys, has remained very active in the
Italian prog movement). In addition to the standard rock instrumentation and the
horns, there is also violin. Some vox, but not much.Digitally remastered from
the master tapes by Beppe. Highly recommended, along with "Tilt" (a little more
experimental). Only bad thing is that thetext on the cover is about 4 point and
is extremely hard to read. (One thing that you will note about Italian prog
bands of that era is that almost all of them have dual keyboardists. This is a
good thing!!!)"
From: Greg Young
> So does anyone know some history of Crovella? What bands did he
play in prior to the 90's?
Back in the 70's, he played in the jazz-rock fusion group Arti e Mestieri,
where his keys lent a sort of symphonic edge to the fusion style. The most
celebrated participant in that group was probably drummer Furio Chirico with his
energized style. Chirico also participated in the Romantic Warriors project
which has been discussed here recently. I've always assumed they must have
tranquilized him before allowing him to play on that, given the relatively
sedate manner he employs. If anyone is interested in Arti e Mestieri, I would
recommend Tilt as a good indicator of their style, since later releases are kind
of watered down in quality. For Crovella fans, however, be aware that he is less
of a featured player in that band and seems to mainly provide sonic depth.
gianluca renoffio
]
> Wow, this sounds like it was a great event! (Vigevano Prog Festival '99).
Was Arti & Mestieri the original lineup?
Yes. It's the original line up (of the first 2 albums). At the end of
september will be realized the new album that they cosider the third one of the
original Arti&Mestieri.
From: Roberto Cassetta
]
Sent: November 09, 2003
Subject: From Arti & Mestieri, Italy.
News and updates in the Arti&Mestieri universe: ? Their "on the road" life
constantly improving during year 2003. After playing some important gigs through
Italy in May-July, the band flew over to the United States to headline the Prog
Day 2003 in North Carolina, on august 31st.The performance was a success,
according Sean McFee, Production Manager of the festival. ? The band will
perform overseas once again in March 2004, at the Baja Prog Fest, Mexicali, Baja
California, Mexico. ? Check out
http://www.bajaprog.com
Fans dedicated performance: the entire TILT lp will be played live. Arti&Mestieri,
considered one of the most influent cult bands in the italian and european prog
scene will astonish the audience confirming, 25 years after its release, that
"TILT" is still a milestone for two generations of fans.
Always working hard to achieve new goals, band drummer Furio Chirico played at
the Modern Drummer Festival 2002. First Italian ever, he delighted the audience
with a blasting performance, showing how power and dynamics can be put together
creating a unique sound.
Soon available: PROG DAY LIVE EP. A 4 track ep dedicated to the Prog Day
performance. LIVE IN STUDIO 2003 2004: LIVE DVD 2004 New A&M CD
For more detailed information about the band and the members, check out:
Official Arti&Mestieri website:
www.artiemestieri.org Label: www.electromantic.com Furio Chirico official
website: www.furiochirico.com Beppe Crovella official website:
www.beppecrovella.com Info and concert booking: piero.bertagna@tin.it or Roberto
Cassetta: robycass@tin.it