- country:Canada
- region:North America
- style(s):Global Fusion, Latin
- label:Casa Nostra
- artist posted by:Productions Casa Nostra
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Marco Calliari may be a full Québécois, but he has never renounced his Italian origins. If anything, this singer and guitarist’s roots have been more pronounced since he travelled to Italy to reconnect with his origins when he was 20. Both of his parents are Italian, yet he was not at first seduced by the charms of the classic Neapolitan songs. This rare bird’s musical talents and tastes were very eclectic. Although since childhood, he had heard the melodies of the opera, within his famiglia, in 1989, at just 14 years old, he chose a very different sound : wild screaming heavy metal! It’s at that time that he co-founded, with his friends, one of the most interesting metal groups in Quebec, Anonymus. But in 2006, after more than 15 years and five solid albums, Marco ended this important musical adventure to throw himself fully into his own thriving solo career, launched in 2003.
In 2004, Marco Calliari started his solo adventure with a handful of accomplices which are adept at playing percussions, trumpets, and the other unique instruments that give his music its unforgettable touch and atmosphere. François Lalonde (Jean Leloup, Lhasa de Sela, Dobacaracol, Mara Tremblay) produced Che la vita… (Cosa Nostra label – DEP distribution), a festive album that borders what can be calles World Music, Jazz, poetic music, with all the lyrics and music signed by Marco, and all in Italian. Marco Calliari is one of the first artists to hold such a spot and the previous success he enjoyed with other musical projects have landed him a privileged place in the hearts of Québécois who have a reputation for knowing an authentic artist when they hear one. Since its launch in 2004, the album Che la vita… has sold over 16 000 copies, in a primarily French speaking audience.
Marco Calliari has performed in many different settings, especially on the television show, Belle et Bum, which then added the title song of his album, Che la vita… to its homegrown anthology, on which we can also hear many other artists seen and heard on the Télé-Québec show. Since then, there have been no less than three videos, running on the MusiMax channel. We’ve also had the chance to hear him with other artists such as Gianmaria Testa and Giorgio Conte, and closer to home, with Monon’c Serge, the World beat band Colectivo, Nanette Workman, Lynda Thalie, IMA and Hugo Lapointe, to name a few.
For the past three years, Marco Calliari has travelled through all of Québec, Ontario, France, Spain and Italy, playing the songs of his album over 150 times. The industry has also recognized this artist’s talent with awarding him the Prix Étoiles Galaxie (Radio-Canada) during the Festival des musiques émergentes à Rouyn-Noranda (2004), then in 2005, he was awarded the RIDEAU Bursary (Réseau indépendant des diffuseurs d’événements artistiques unis, the independent network of united artistic events promoters). That same year, Marco Calliari was among the nominees at the Gala de l’ADISQ in the ‘Album of the year – World music’ category. He also launched, in 2004, the Ritalfest, a festival in Montréal showcasing up and coming performers from Quebec and beyond, celebrating italo-quebecker music.
A busy year
Among the more than 120 shows planned for 2006, Marco Calliari has started by doing his show for Che la vita… at the Lion D’Or, in April. The live taping of this show is featured in a DVD, launched in June 2006. As bonus features of this DVD, fans are able to watch his three videos, a documentary and pictures taken during the Che la vita…tour, as well as learn famiglia secrets with Mamma Calliari showing Marco how to cook!
During the summer 2006 season, Marco Calliari has been on stage with the well-known American band, Calexico, for the Festival d’été de Québec. He also performed on the main stage for the Francofolies de Montréal in front of 120 000 spectators. In July, he flew off to Europe, for a tour of 9 shows in Italy. Marco Calliari has just finished recording his second solo album in which he remakes his own versions of traditional Italian songs such as O Sole Mio, Bella Ciao and L’Americano. This album is set to come out in October.
Devi solo camminar...