27 July 2023 – 21:00 / Cevio
Memorable evening, the legendary Colosseum arrive at the Magic Blues. An icon of Ticino music will open the evening.
Thusday, July 27, 2023 will be a memorable night for our festival. The legendary Colosseum are coming to the valley. A dream comes true. We are looking at one of the best bands in the entire history of rock, forerunners of fusion and prog rock, with their mix of Rock, Blues, Jazz and avant-garde. If you feel like checking out the lineups and various lineups in which past and future members have played, you will understand that going to see one of their concerts is like going to the library to study the history of blues rock. This is a band that has always performed at its best live, with long tunes, peppered with spectacular solos by the various members, all of whom are outstanding masters of their instrument. Although they have suffered several defections due to the disappearance of such musicians as saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith, charismatic leader Jon Hiseman, an incredible drummer, and Barbara Thompson, as well as the renunciation for health reasons of keyboardist Dave Greenslade, the replacements have shown in the last two years that they are equal to the aforementioned sacred monsters, and the band still includes the legendary singer Chris Farlowe (incredible voice despite being 82 years old! ), the brilliant guitarist Clem Clempson and the very solid bassist Mark Clarke. Now the new ones include Malcolm Mortimore on drums, enfant prodige in the days of Gentle Giant, (then with Tina Turner and Van Morrison), Nick Steed on keyboards, formerly with Van Morrison and author for Toto and Snarky Puppy, and finally Kim Nishikawa, formerly with Michael Bublé. This is enough to understand what awaits us in Cevio. It might also be the last chance to admire them in Ticino, to hear the notes of "Valentyne Suite" or "Lost Angeles" echoing in the valley, and then needless to say, marking the date in red in the diary is the least any lover of "good music" can do! See you in Cevio!
Opening the evening will be "our" Marco Zappa, who with his Blues Friends finally lands at the Vallemaggia Magic Blues. Among the icons of Ticino music at the Magic Blues only he was missing. In 1964 he founded the Teenagers, a beat group that with the Nightbirds reintroduced the Beatles-Rolling Stones pairing in Ticino as well. He is the Swiss musician who with the greatest continuity has worked in the field of song in the Italian language. He has done so starting from youthful beat experiences, crossing over to rock, electronic experimentation, world music and Lombard/Swiss-Italian folk music. Marco Zappa's activity is approaching 60 years and he has produced, with a truly tireless constancy, more than 20 studio albums and more than 10 live albums, anthologies and soundtracks; as well as a concert activity throughout Europe, often extending to other continents. Now he is taking up another challenge and will appear on the Magic Blues stage for a "strictly" Blues program, accompanied by three of the best musicians around in our latitudes; this last piece of news alone should convene the audience of great occasions in Cevio.
Listen to/Hören
Colosseum
UK
A dream come true: the legendary Colosseum on the Magic Blues stage!
It still doesn't seem true that the legendary Colosseum will perform on the Vallemaggia Magic Blues stage. A dream come true. This is one of the best bands in the whole history of Rock, forerunners of Fusion and Prog rock with their mix of Rock, Blues, Jazz and avant-garde. If you feel like checking out the various line-ups in which past and future members have played, you will understand that going to see one of their concerts is like going to the library to study the history of British Blues Rock. This is a band that has always performed at its best live, with long songs enhanced by spectacular solos by the various members, all of whom are outstanding on their instruments. Although the band has suffered many losses due to the passing of musicians of the calibre of saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith, charismatic leader Jon Hiseman (an incredible drummer), Barbara Thompson, and keyboardist Dave Greenslade's retirement for health reasons, the substitutes have shown in the last two years that they are up to the standards of the aforementioned sacred monsters, and the band still includes the legendary singer Chris Farlowe (incredible voice despite being 82 years old! ), the brilliant guitarist Clem Clempson and the very solid bassist Mark Clarke. Now the new members include Malcolm Mortimore on drums, enfant prodige in the days of Gentle Giant before a frightening motorbike accident that stopped him for a few years (then with Tina Turner and Van Morrison), Nick Steed, keyboardist formerly with Van Morrison and author for Toto and Snarky Puppy, and finally Kim Nishikawa, formerly with Michael Bublé. This is enough to understand what awaits us in Cevio. It could also be the last chance to see them in Ticino, to hear the notes of "Valentyne Suite" or "Lost Angeles" echoing in the valley, and so it goes without saying that blocking the date in the diary is the least that any lover of "good music" can do.. See you in Cevio!
Listen to/Hören
Marco Zappa Blues Friends
CH
One of Ticino's music icons at Magic Blues
Among Ticino' music icons at Magic Blues, only Marco Zappa was missing. Born in Locarno on 14 March 1949, he began by studying the piano, but soon took an interest in the guitar, the main instrument of the beat music that was emerging in England. In 1964, he founded the Teenagers, a beat group that, together with the Nightbirds, re-proposed the Beatles-Rolling Stones rivalry in Ticino. These early musical experiences, with the systematic performance of almost all the new songs of the groups then in vogue, certainly represented one of the key stimuli for Zappa's future professional compositional and interpretative career. He is the Swiss musician who has most consistently worked in the field of songs written in Italian. He did this from youthful beat experiences, through rock, electronic experimentation, world music and Lombard/Swiss-Italian folk music. Marco Zappa's activity is now approaching 60 years of age and he has produced with a truly untiring constancy more than 20 studio albums and more than 10 live albums, anthologies and soundtracks, as well as concert activity throughout Europe, often extending to other continents. He received the "UNESCO Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2017 and the "Swiss Music Prize" in 2019. It is precisely the dimension of the relationship with the nation that is a hallmark of Zappa's work, as he has often collaborated with musicians from the rest of Switzerland. Now he takes up another challenge and will appear on the Magic Blues stage for a 'strictly' Blues program accompanied by three of the best musicians around. This last piece of news alone should bring the audience of great occasions to Maggia.
Listen to/Hören
