Worldbeat Sounds by Rome\’s Immigrants

L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio

L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio (APV 001, 2004)

Western Europe is becoming a land of immigrants. Italy is no exception. The
outstanding L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio plays an explosive mix of South Asian
worldbeat, Andean melodies, North African rhythms, and jazz influences.

Piazza Vittorio is a square in central Rome where Italians are a minority. An
Italian musician had the idea of forming an orchestra with all immigrants and
put up a 16 piece orchestra with musicians from Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Cuba,
Ecuador, Argentina, India, Romania, Hungary, and the USA. After nearly two years the
Orchestra did over 100 concerts. In only four months it sold 10.000 records in
Italy. The Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio includes 15 musicians from 11 countries,
spanning 3 continents, and speaking 8 languages. Its director is Mario Tronco (Avion
Travel) who, in collaboration with Apollo 11, put it all together realizing a
dream of sounds and integration founded in a neighborhood of immigrants.

The Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio is:

Mario Tronco (Italy) – artistic director
Houcine Ataa (Tunisia) – vocals
Amrit Hussain (India) – tabla
Mohamed Bilal (India) – harmonium, castanets, vocals
Peppe D’Argenzio (Italy) – sax
Abdel Majid Karam (Morocco) – guimbri, Andalusian violin
Omar Lopez Valle (Cuba) – trumpet
John Maida (United States) – violin
Eszter Nagypal (Hungary) – cello
Gaia Orsoni (Italy) – viola
Carlos Paz (Ecuador) – Andean flute, guitar, vocals
Giuseppe Pecorelli (Italy) – double bass
Paul Scebba (Argentina) – percussions
Marian Serban (Romania) – cymbalon
El Hadji Yeri Samb (Senegal) – percussions
Ziad Trabeisi (Tunisia) – ud, vocals