Marino Marini (11 May 1924 – 20 March 1997) was an Italian musician who achieved international success in the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

He was born into a family of musicians in

Seggiano Seggiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about northeast of Grosseto. The center is situated on the foothills of the north-western hills of Monte Am ...

in the

province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto ( it, links=no, provincia di Grosseto) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Gro ...

to parents originally from

Montecelio Guidonia Montecelio (), commonly known as Guidonia, is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio, central Italy. Geography The municipality of Guidonia Montecelio, formed by the main towns of Guidonia and Montecelio, l ...

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. After briefly studying electronics, he studied piano, violin and composition at the Conservatorio Rossini at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, teaching music on his graduation. In 1947, after military service, he was appointed artistic director of the Metropolitan music hall in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, where he developed a liking for Neapolitan music. In 1948 he visited the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for six months, meeting Dizzy Gillespie,

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

and

Charlie Ventura Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo; December 2, 1916 – January 17, 1992) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Career During the 1940s, Ventura played saxophone for the bands o ...

. American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

was also a formative influence. On his return, Marini wrote music for films and revues and played in cabaret in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and Naples. In 1954, he placed a newspaper advert seeking “young musicians without experience, singing in tune. If not cheerful, don't apply." From the many applicants he chose Gaetano “Totò” Savio (guitar), Sergio Peppino (drums) and Ruggero Cori (bass and vocal) for a quartet, Marini playing piano and occasionally singing solo. This quartet played together from 1954 to 1960, a period regarded as the Marino Marini Quartet's most prolific and successful. Marino Marini
They made their first recording on the

Durium Durium is a highly durable synthetic resin developed in 1929. It was used in phonograph records, as well as in the casting process for metallic type and in the aeronautics industry. Origin It is a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin, the result of ...

label in 1955. The following year they appeared on Italian TV. Their recordings of "Guaglione", "Don Ciccio o' piscatore", "Rico Vacilon", "La Pansè", and "Maruzzella" were very popular, "Guaglione" becoming the first European single to sell more than five million copies. (It was used on the soundtrack of the 1999 film ''

The Talented Mr. Ripley ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. This novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen, including ''Purpl ...

''.) Following this successful debut, Marini commenced touring with his quartet, in the following years performing in hundreds of concerts in western and eastern Europe, the US, the Middle East and Japan. Marini's recordings in the late 1950s and early 1960s included covers of Domenico Modugno's " Volare" and "Ciao ciao bambina" and

Rocco Granata Rocco Granata (born 16 August 1938) is an Italian-Belgian singer, songwriter, and accordionist. Granata was born in Figline Vegliaturo, Calabria, southern Italy; but his parents immigrated to Belgium when he was aged ten. Rocco's father was a ...

's "Marina". In 1960, he won the first and the second prizes in the Naples song festival with "Serenata a Margellina" and "Uè uè uè che femmena". In 1958 he performed

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

's "The Honeymoon Song" in

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

's film '' Honeymoon''. In 1960 the first quartet disbanded and in 1961 new quartet was formed with Marini, Bruno Guarnera (guitar), Pepito di Pace (drums) and Vittorio Benvenuti (bass, vocal, dance). The quartet was re-formed again in 1963 with Francesco Ventura (guitar), Sergio (drums), and Franco Cesarico (bass guitar and vocal). Marino Marini's music was rooted in the tradition of Italian song, and in particular

Neapolitan song Canzone napoletana (), sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song ( nap, canzona napulitana ), is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily for the male voice singing solo, although well represented ...

, as he sometimes performed in the Neapolitan language (e.g. "Maruzzella"). Many of his numbers are in 4/4 or 4/8

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

, but he sometimes used the 6/8

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

rhythm with an off-beat tempo accentuated by the piano on the second and fourth beat. He performed in several styles and genres, reinterpreting American standards or current pop songs (e.g. "Just Young") and using dance rhythms such as

cha-cha-cha Cha cha cha may refer to: * ''Cha-cha-chá'' (music), a style of Cuban dance music * Cha-cha-cha (dance), a Latin American dance accompanying the music Film and television * ''Cha Cha Cha'' (film), a 2013 Italian crime film * ''Cha Cha Cha'' ...

, the

twist Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

, the letkiss and the samba. He often combined genres (e.g. Neapolitan song and samba in "Ciccio 'o piscatore"). He made innovative use of the echo chamber (using one made to his own design) and is said to have been the first European performer to use sound mixing on stage, anticipating the techniques used by rock musicians in the 1960s. Among the performers he influenced were the French singer

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

and the French-Italian

Caterina Valente Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is a French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer of Italian ethnicity. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a performer in Europe, Valent ...

. He retired from performing in 1966 but continued to compose. He died in March 1997.Marino Marini and his Quartet
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UK discography

Studio albums

* Marino Marini in London TLU 97008 Durium Records 12/1957 * Marino Marini at The London Palladium TLU 97018 Durium Records 3/1959 * The Marino Marini Quartet TLU 97028 Durium Records 1959 * Marino Marini ed il suo Quartetto DRL 50003 Durium Records 1963 * Marino Marini ed il suo Quartetto – Volume 5 DRL 50019 Durium Records 1966

EP's

* Marino Marini and his Happy Music Vol. 1 U 20007 Durium Records 12/1957 * Marino Marini and his Happy Music Vol. 2 U 20020 Durium Records 12/1957 * The Marino Marini Quartet U 20027 Durium Records 12/1957 * Marino Marini and his Quartet Vol. 3 U 20028 Durium Records 1958 * That Crazy Quartet U 20030 Durium Records 1958 * The Marino Marini Quartet Vol. 2 U 20031 Durium Records 5/1958 * The Marino Marini Quartet Vol. 3 U 20036 Durium Records 12/1958 * Marino with a Latin Beat U 20042 Durium Records 1959 * Marino at San Remo U 20047 Durium Records 10/1959 * New Spotlight on Marino U 20049 Durium Records 1959 * Marino Marini at The London Palladium Vol. 1 U 20053 Durium Records 1959 * Marino Marini at The London Palladium Vol. 2 U 20054 Durium Records 1959 * San Remo Festival 1960 U 20063 Durium Records 1960 * Marino Sings The Hits U 20065 Durium Records 10/1960 * Marino Marini in Paris U 20069 Durium Records 1961 * Here Comes Marino U 20073 Durium Records 1961 * Marino Marini at San Remo 1962 U 20078 Durium Records 1962 * On The Dance Floor U 20080 Durium Records 1963 * On The Dance Floor Vol. 2 U 20081 Durium Records 1963 * The San Remo Festival 1964 U 20082 Durium Records 1964

Singles

*Chella 'lla / Basta un poco di musica DC 16625 Durium Records *Guaglione / La piu' bella del mondo DC 16626 Durium Records *With All My Heart / The Pansy DC 16629 Durium Records *Guitar Boogie / Armen's Theme DC 16631 Durium Records *Come prima / Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu) DC 16632 Durium Records *I Could Have Danced All Night / Saunabad (Les gars de Rochechouart) DC 16634 Durium Records *Stella Stella (Star Of Love) / Lazzarella DC 16635 Durium Records *Ciao ciao bambina (Piove) / Avevamo la stessa eta' DC 16636 Durium Records *The Honeymoon Song / Pimpollo DC 16640 Durium Records *Sarra' chi sa' / Guarda che luna DC 16642 Durium Records *Sei bella / Marina DC 16644 Durium Records *Romantica / Libero DC 16645 Durium Records *Abbracciami / Mustapha DC 16648 Durium Records *Luna napoletana / Oh! Oh! Rosy DC 16650 Durium Records *Palma de Majorca / Fermati DC 16658 Durium Records *Love And Kisses / The Beat Of My Heart DC 16662 Durium Records *Jessica / It Is Better To Love DC 16664 Durium Records *Rosita cha cha cha / Moliendo cafe DC 16666 Durium Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marini, Marino 1924 births 1997 deaths People from the Province of Grosseto Italian pop musicians Italian bandleaders Neapolitan language Italian male singer-songwriters Italian singer-songwriters 20th-century Italian male singers