Nova was an
Italian progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...
band that was formed in 1975 from members of the bands
Osanna
Osanna are an Italian progressive rock band.
Origin
The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti (voice), Danilo Rustici (guitar), Massimo Guarino (drums), Lello Brandi (bass), from the first line ...
and
Cervello. Based in London for most of their career, they released four albums that were influenced by the 1970s jazz fusion styles of bands such as
Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 a ...
,
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...
, and
Return to Forever
Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhun ...
.
History
The band was formed when the founder members of
Osanna
Osanna are an Italian progressive rock band.
Origin
The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti (voice), Danilo Rustici (guitar), Massimo Guarino (drums), Lello Brandi (bass), from the first line ...
, Elio D'Anna (saxophone and flute) and Danilo Rustici (guitar) were joined by Danilos’ 17-year-old brother,
Corrado Rustici
Corrado Rustici (born 1957) is an Italian musician, songwriter and producer.
Recording career
Rustici was a founder member of the Naples-based progressive rock group Cervello. The band recorded the album '' Melos'' in 1973, with Rustici on guitar ...
(guitar and vocals) from
Cervello. They were joined by Luciano Milanese (bass) and Dede Lo Previte (drums) from Circus 2000.
Their first album, ''Blink'' was released in 1976 and has a strong English progressive rock influence. It became the only recording by the band to be released in Italy. Following the departure and return to Italy of three band members, D'Anna and Corrado formed a new line-up with
New Trolls Atomic System keyboardist, Renato Rosset. Having started out with a strong progressive influence, the band now started to move towards a jazz-fusion sound. The second album, ''
Vimana
Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentio ...
'', was recorded with a number of distinguished guest musicians, including
Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 a ...
drummer
Narada Michael Walden,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
/
Brand X
Brand X were a jazz fusion band formed in London in 1974. They were active until 1980, followed by a reformation between 1992 and 1999, and were active following a 2016 reunion until 2021. Members have included John Goodsall (guitar), Percy ...
drummer
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
and Brand X bass player
Percy Jones.
The band completed their line-up with two new members; Barry Johnson on bass and vocals and former
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member and wrote ...
and Ibis drummer,
Ric Parnell
Ric Parnell (13 August 1951 – 1 May 2022) was an English rock drummer. Notable for his work in the band Atomic Rooster, he is probably best known for his role as the ill-fated drummer Mick Shrimpton in the film ''This Is Spinal Tap''.
Caree ...
. They went on to record ''
Wings of Love
''Wings of Love'' is a 1976 album by The Temptations for the Gordy ( Motown) label.
Background
Producer Jeffrey Bowen preferred Dennis Edwards to the rest of the group, and wanted to produce an Edwards solo album instead of a group album. As a ...
'' in 1977. The band moved to the USA for their final album ''Sun City'', which was released in 1978. Following this recording, D'Anna returned to Italy where he became a producer. Rustici also went on to a successful career as a musician and producer, collaborating with many famous artists such as
Zucchero
Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teach ...
and
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
.
Corrado Rustici's official site
/ref> Johnson went on to join Lenny White
Leonard "Lenny" White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion". He has won ...
's group Twennynine, while Parnell featured in the 1984 film ''This is Spinal Tap
''This Is Spinal Tap'' (also known as ''This Is Spınal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi'') is a 1984 American mockumentary film co-written and directed by Rob Reiner (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Christopher Guest, M ...
''.
Discography
*''Blink'' (1976)
*''Vimana
Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentio ...
'' (1976)
*''Wings of Love
''Wings of Love'' is a 1976 album by The Temptations for the Gordy ( Motown) label.
Background
Producer Jeffrey Bowen preferred Dennis Edwards to the rest of the group, and wanted to produce an Edwards solo album instead of a group album. As a ...
'' (1977)
*''Sun City'' (1978)
See also
*Italian progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...
* Il Balletto di Bronzo
* Il Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
* I Cervello
*La Locanda delle Fate
Locanda delle Fate (The Fairy Inn) is an Italian progressive rock band from the end of the Italian progressive rock movement.
The band formed in 1974 and in 1975 the vocalist Leonardo Sasso entered the group.Enzo Giannelli. "Locanda delle Fate". G ...
*Le Orme
Le Orme (Italian: "The Footprints") is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, a ''frazione'' of Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s. They are one of few Italian r ...
*Osanna
Osanna are an Italian progressive rock band.
Origin
The group originated in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples with the union of Lino Vairetti (voice), Danilo Rustici (guitar), Massimo Guarino (drums), Lello Brandi (bass), from the first line ...
* La Premiata Forneria Marconi
*Il Rovescio della Medaglia Il Rovescio della Medaglia, or RDM, were an Italian hard rock and symphonic rock band. They are most famous for their symphonic rock piece '' Contaminazione'', released in 1973. It contained four pieces from Bach's '' Well-tempered Clavier'' seamles ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Italian progressive rock groups
Arista Records artists
Musical groups established in 1975
Musical groups disestablished in 1978