July 4, 2013

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino at Joe's Pub, NYC

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino are
Mauro Durante: frame drums, violin, voice; Giulio Bianco: zampogna, harmonica, recorders, ciaramella; Emanuele Licci: voice, bouzouki; Maria Mazzotta: voice, castagnette; Massimiliano Morabito: diatonic accordion; Giancarlo Paglialunga: voice, tamburello; and Silvia Perrone: dance 
By Lucian
My friends and I recently had the pleasure of seeing the pizzica Salentina group Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino perform at Joe's Pub in Manhattan, and it was every bit as good as I expected. 

The group played a nice mixture of traditional and original songs and the passion and pace gave me an adrenaline rush throughout their performance. They used a variety of instruments including the zampogna, which is the southern Italian version of the bag pipes. Silvia Perrone appeared onstage in a beautiful red dress and her traditional dancing was captivating. My only disappointment was that the concert was only an hour long, but what a spectacular hour it was!

CGS are an explosive whirlwind of dance and music
Peppe Voltarelli was in attendance and joined the group for their finale. We were also fortunate to be sitting nearby (musician, songwriter, and singer) Allison Scola and a group of her friends. When they danced to the music it made a wonderful night even better.

It is not every day that we have the opportunity to experience authentic Southern Italian music and taranta dancing. I felt privileged to be surrounded by such warmth, tradition and joy. 

CGS take a curtain call
Photos courtesy of Ioannis Fidanakis
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