The singularly talented Cleveland ensemble hailed for ‘historical preservation and musicianship’ plays Ann Arbor and Traverse City this month. The Local Spins interview with bandleader Anthony Taddeo.
Alla Boara: Adding their own voice to Italian music that’s still evolving. (Courtesy Photo)
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Back, and to the future. That’s one way to look at the music of Alla Boara, which performs at Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor on Feb. 19 and The Alluvion in Traverse City on Feb. 21.
But while that might hint at the process, it doesn’t really describe the music. It is a melding of Italian folk songs that may be a century or more old with additional instrumentation and harmonies, courtesy of drummer, songwriter and bandleader Anthony Taddeo.
Alla Boara’s roots go back to when he discovered field recordings made in the 1950s in rural Italy by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax. While his father is originally from Italy, Taddeo wasn’t familiar with these songs from his father’s homeland. He didn’t even speak the language, but that didn’t stop him from falling in love with the music when he heard it.
“I went to Youngstown State for grad school to study composition,” Taddeo says. That was where he discovered recordings Lomax had made in 1954. “I was blown away by the depth.”
Taddeo says he was moved by the songs, despite the language barrier and the fact they were mostly done a cappella, and there wasn’t much in the way of harmony. So he took the bones of the music and expanded it with harmonies and different instrumentation. “It was fun to take the bare songs and add a bunch of stuff to it,” he says.
Though he enjoyed what he was doing, Taddeo didn’t expect a lot to come from it. He says he was thinking – hoping, really – that maybe he could get a group together to play the music a couple times a year. Maybe, if he was really fortunate, he might be able to record an album.
A Lot of Improvisation: Alla Boara (Courtesy Photo)
As a freelance musician, he did know a number of different musicians, and was pleasantly surprised by the reception when he presented the idea to some of them. Today, Alla Boara includes accordionist Mark Micchelli, who doubles on piano, and bassist Ian Kinnaman, who was a student in a grad program ensemble. Taddeo had played a number of jazz gigs with guitarist Dan Bruce and added him and Tommy Lehman on trumpet. Vocalist Amanda Powell is comfortable singing baroque, classical, folk, jazz and world music, though Ashlee Foreman, described by Taddeo as an amazing vocalist, will be the featured singer.
While Taddeo was heartened by the interest from fellow musicians, he was completely caught off guard by the response from the public. The group has seen more success and longevity than he ever anticipated. Alla Boara currently has three recordings available, with another one in the works, and tours frequently from its home base in Cleveland.
Which was hugely gratifying to Taddeo. He didn’t anticipate that many people would come to out for an evening of what he admits was a personal passion project, especially as the songs aren’t even sung in English.
He is happy to have been proven wrong. “They (audiences) connect with the humanity in the music. There’s an innate human-ness we find in folk music,” he says.
ALLA BOARA: ‘TO THE FIELDS’
The band’s name comes from an Italian phrase meaning “to the work” or “to the fields.” It references the traditional, often sorrowful, folk songs sung by rural, blue-collar workers in Italy. Taddeo says that highlights the band’s focus on working-class folk songs rather than more highbrow music, such as classical opera.
The group’s interaction with the audience includes explanations of the songs, their origins and their messages. An Alla Boara performance blends music and storytelling in a way Taddeo says touches audiences wherever the group performs, regardless of any language barrier in the lyrics.
While the music is rooted in Italian folk traditions, Taddeo explains that it is not exclusively of that idiom. He brings his jazz and compositional background to the music, which he writes and arranges from the roots of the original music.
He says the result is maybe not pure Italian folk music, but part of a continuing evolution of the tradition. “It’s not like we’re an authority. Music in Italy is still evolving. We are adding our own voice to it.”
That voice encompasses the various styles and strengths Taddeo and the other members bring to the proceedings. “There’s a lot of improvisation to it,” he says, likening it to other idioms that are cross pollinated by other styles. “There’s a lot of music contaminated by jazz,” he says with a laugh.
Taddeo has since begun to become more familiar with the country of his forebears, even learning to speak Italian. He has visited Italy several times in the last decade. “I began to learn the language at 28,” he says with a laugh.
Get details about the Ann Arbor show online here. Tickets for the Feb. 21 concert at The Alluvion in Traverse City, $30 in advance, are available at thealluvion.org.
VIDEO: Alla Boara, “Almond Sorters” (Live)
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