Italian versionMidnight Walker (Davy Spillane)
In our first years of marriag we used to listen to Montecarlo Night program on Radio Montecarlo,and this was the theme song with which Nick The Nightfly opened the program. It became the soundtrack of our evenings and nights.
Back Home (Bob Berg)
A few days after meeting Adriana I prepared a tape with the most beautiful songs I knew,as it was usual when MP3s didn’t exist yet. Until then she had listened to classic and pop music,almost exclusively,and it was her first close encounter with jazz. She played the tape so often that it got un-magnetized. Even after many years,each time she listened to it she remembered “this was the first song!” … it was never necessary to specify “the first of what”. We gave each other so many gifts over the years,but possibly no one has been so crucial like this 60-minute tape. The best spent hour in my life…
Overjoy (Steve Wonder)
One day Adri told me she had been moved by a very beautiful song she heard on the radio,she wanted me to find it but hadn’t grasped the title. The next week we were in Las Vegas,we got in the Bellagio and there was a piano playing. “This was it,this was it!”,thus I asked the player and found out about this jewel. Tell about coincidences … It became her favorite song,she was moved each time she listened to it.
Lotus Blossom (David Sanborn)
I might have had the confirmation that Adriana was the right woman when I realized that she,too,was fascinated by Sanborn’s sound. She loved many of his tunes,but this one was the first she ever listened to,it was in *that* tape.
In a Sentimental Mood (Steps Ahead)
If I was practicing with my sax while she was home,sooner or later I played this wonderful theme. I will never play it as charmingly as Michael Brecker does in this version,yet she always left whatever she was doing and came close to listen more carefully,because she knew I was playing it for her.
Deus e Brasilero (Terra Samba)
We discovered the Terra Samba band while vacationing in Mexico,possibly the most beautiful and cheerful vacation. This became the “theme song” of all our parties,the tune that signals that eating is over and dances begin.
Don’t Give Up (Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush)
This song always touched her,she could listen to it many times in a row. In the last two years,however,it was more than a song’s title,it became her and our mantra. “Never,never,never give up”was a sentence by Wiston Churchill to prepare for the battle.
The Truth Will Always Be (Pat Metheny)
Adriana loved so many tunes by Pat Metheny,I chose this one because she created a beautiful choreography on these notes and won a prize in a contest in Reggio Calabria,in July 1993. Her best dance students performed in the night,on a promontory a few meters from the sea,with the wind blowing in the tarpaulins used for the backstage. Dance,music,and lights together were pure magic. Thrilling. Unforgettable.
Arietta (Grieg / Jan Garbarek)
In the Nineties,Garbarek came to Bari,the day before the concert we saw him in a pub,all alone sitting at a table,no one had recognized him. We explained that he was our hero,he invited us to have a seat and we chatted for a while. He was amazed we had nearly all of his CDs. A charming person,even more fascinating than his music. Sound and pure emotion,Adriana could tell his timbre among one thousand saxes.
Romeo and Giuliet (Stefano Di Battista)
This is the famous theme by Nino Rota,but in recent years Adriana didn’t want to listen to it any longer,because “it tells a story of love but also of death”. I like to think that she isn’t afraid anymore and she can enjoy the beauty of this wonderful music.
Zaiana (Fabio Accardi)
In 2012 our friend Fabio handed us the preliminary version of a CD he had recorded. It was so beautiful that we decided to produce it. Zaiana is the name of a marvelous beach in the Gargano,the next year we decided to go there on purpose to see it. Wonderful and warm,a symbol of joy for life,just like this music.
Assenza (Gianni Lenoci)
Gianni wrote this song,which is so beautiful that deserves to become a jazz standards. We used to play it in a quintet,in the middle of the Nineties,yet we never recorded it on a CD,thus only this great trio version exists. Adriana never missed any of his concerts,always hoping that he would play this tune again,but it wasn’t in Gianni’s repertoire any longer. When I asked him for the permission to include it in this playlist,Gianni promised that we will soon play it again together,for her.
Balla Morena (Zucchero)
Either alone at home or in the middle of a party with friends,when this song began to play Adriana used to run to where the action was and unleashed her joy for dancing. Sexy and graceful as always.
Memories of Green (Vangelis)
When we listened to the Blade Runner soundtrack for the first time,we suddenly realized that this was “our” song,and such it has remained for a quarter of a century. We danced it in tuxedo and bridal gown in front of relatives and friends,and we danced it at home,alone,many many times. But not too often,because one should never abuse beauty and emotions.
The End (Beatles)
“And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make”…. everything you ever need to know,in a single sentence.
