Mario Biondi (born Mario Ranno, on 28 January 1971) is an Italian singer. His pseudonym takes up that of his father Giuseppe Ranno, singer, aka Stefano Biondi.

Early life

Born in Catania, Italy, Mario Biondi is the son of a popular song singer, and sang in various small

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

s during his youth. He is of Sicilian descent. He was passionate about

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and trained by listening to the records of Lou Rawls, Al Jarreau and Isaac Hayes and others, while important for his artistic growth, he declared, was the friendship with fellow citizen

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. By 1988, he was a big supporter of

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. Years after he accompanied

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Peppino Di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...

Fred Bongusto Alfredo Antonio Carlo Buongusto (6 April 1935 – 8 November 2019), known by his stage name Fred Bongusto, was an Italian light music singer, songwriter and composer who was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Career history Bongusto was born ...

Rosario Fiorello Rosario Tindaro Fiorello (born 16 May 1960), known just as Fiorello, is an Italian comedian, singer, radio, and television presenter. Career Fiorello was born in Catania, Sicily, and raised in Augusta, Sicily. He began his career working in tour ...

and others on their

Concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

Career

After a long series of collaborations with Italian and international artists, as well a small production of

disco music Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano ...

, he achieved success in 2006 with the

Schema Records Schema Records is a prominent Italian record label in Milan, Italy, that specializes in jazz, Brazilian, and Latin-influenced music. Schema is a sublabel of Ishtar a recording and publishing company based in Milan, which runs the sublabels Schema ...

album ''Handful of Soul''. His deep and warm voice recalls the great interpreters of soul and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

music. In 2007, he released a double disc containing live material, entitled ''I Love You More LIVE''. In 2010 he released a live album ''Yes You (Live)'' and followed that in 2011 with a double CD album ''Due''. In 2013, Biondi released a new album ''SUN'' and ''Mario Christmas''. On 5 May 2015 Mario has published a brand new record: ''Beyond'', featuring songs such as "Love is a temple".

Discography

*2006: ''Handful of Soul'' *2007: ''I Love You More (Live)'' *2010: ''If'' *2010: ''Yes You (Live)'' *2011: ''Due'' *2013: ''Sun'' *2013: ''Mario Christmas'' *2015: ''Beyond'' *2016: ''Best of Soul'' *2018: ''Brasil'' *2021: ''Dare'' *2022: ''Romantic''

References

External links

Official SiteSchema RecordsMario Biondi's FacebookMario Biondi's MySpace'This Is What You Are': video and lyrics
* ttp://www.bergamonews.it/cultura-e-spettacolo/sun-e-mario-biondi-vola-nel-mondo-sulle-ali-del-soul-170411 "Sun", e Mario Biondi vola nel mondo sulle ali del soul dated 5 February 2013br>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biondi, Mario 1971 births Living people Musicians from Catania Schema Records artists Italian soul singers Italian rhythm and blues singers Italian basses 21st-century Italian male singers English-language singers from Italy