Enzo Jannacci
Encyclopedia
Vincenzo Jannacci more commonly known as Enzo Jannacci (vinˈtʃentso or ˈentso janˈnattʃi), is an Italian
singer-songwriter
, actor
and stand-up comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene.
Jannacci is widely considered as a master of musical art and cabaret
, and in the course of his career has collaborated with many famous Italian musicians, performing artists
, journalists, television personalities and comedians. He has written around thirty albums and soundtrack
s, some of which have since come to be seen as milestones in the history of Italian popular music
. In the second half of the 1990s he was considered to be finished as an artist, but in recent years he has managed to appeal to a new audience and has won awards and recognition for his latest recorded works.
He is also regarded as one the founders of Italian rock and roll
music, along with Adriano Celentano
, Luigi Tenco
and Giorgio Gaber
, with whom he collaborated for over forty years.
on June 3, 1935. On his father's side his family is from Puglia: his grandfather, also called Vincenzo, moved to Milan from Bari
just before the onset of the First World War. His mother's side of the family is from Lombardy
.
His father was an aeronautical official and worked at Forlanini airport (now more commonly known as Linate
). He took part in the Italian resistance movement
, in particular during the defense of Milanese aviation at Piazza Novelli, an act which later inspired songs such as Sei minuti all'alba ("Six Minutes to Dawn").
In 1954, having abandoned his studies at the Alessandro Moreschi
Institute, where he met Giorgio Gaber, he graduated with a degree in medicine
from the University of Milan
. He left Italy for South Africa to specialise in cardiac surgery
, where he joined the team of Christiaan Barnard
, the famous surgeon. He later moved to the United States
. On November 23, 1967 he married Giuliana Orefice, who gave birth to Paolo, their only child, five years later. Today Paolo is a musician and conductor
.
On January 1, 2003, the very first day of Jannacci's retirement, his friend Giorgo Gaber died after a long illness at his home near Camaiore
. He went to the funeral, which was held two days later at Abbazia di Chiaravalle where Gaber had married Ombretta Colli, but was only able to say that he had lost a brother.
The Italian artist who collaborated with Enzo Jannacci are really a lot. just few of them: his son Paolo, Beppe Viola, Cochi e Renato, Bruno Lauzi
, Loredana Berté
, Lino Toffolo, Umberto Bindi
, Giorgio Strehler
, Sandro Ciotti, Lina Wertmuller
, Massimo Boldi
and Pino Donaggio
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and stand-up comedian. He is regarded as one of the most important artists in the post-war Italian music scene.
Jannacci is widely considered as a master of musical art and cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, and in the course of his career has collaborated with many famous Italian musicians, performing artists
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, journalists, television personalities and comedians. He has written around thirty albums and soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s, some of which have since come to be seen as milestones in the history of Italian popular music
Italian popular music
The expression Italian Popular Music refers to the musical output which is not usually considered Academic or Classical Music but rather have its roots in the popular traditions, and it may be defined in two ways: it can either be defined in terms of the current geographical location of the Italian...
. In the second half of the 1990s he was considered to be finished as an artist, but in recent years he has managed to appeal to a new audience and has won awards and recognition for his latest recorded works.
He is also regarded as one the founders of Italian rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music, along with Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano is an Italian singer, songwriter, comedian, actor, film director and TV host.-Biography:Celentano was born in Milan at 14 Via Gluck, about which he later wrote the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck"...
, Luigi Tenco
Luigi Tenco
Luigi Tenco was an Italian singer, songwriter and actor.-Biography:Tenco was born in Cassine in 1938, the son of Teresa Zoccola and Giuseppe Tenco. He never knew his father, who died in unclear circumstances...
and Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber, byname of Giorgio Gaberscik , was an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian...
, with whom he collaborated for over forty years.
Personal life
Enzo Jannacci was born in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on June 3, 1935. On his father's side his family is from Puglia: his grandfather, also called Vincenzo, moved to Milan from Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
just before the onset of the First World War. His mother's side of the family is from Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
.
His father was an aeronautical official and worked at Forlanini airport (now more commonly known as Linate
Linate Airport
Linate Airport is one of the three major airports of Milan, Italy, along with Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. Due to its closer proximity to Milan—it is east southeast of the city, compared with Malpensa, which is northwest of the city—it is mainly used for domestic and short-haul...
). He took part in the Italian resistance movement
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, in particular during the defense of Milanese aviation at Piazza Novelli, an act which later inspired songs such as Sei minuti all'alba ("Six Minutes to Dawn").
In 1954, having abandoned his studies at the Alessandro Moreschi
Alessandro Moreschi
Alessandro Moreschi was the most famous castrato singer of the late 19th century, and the only castrato of the classic bel canto tradition to make solo sound recordings.-Life:...
Institute, where he met Giorgio Gaber, he graduated with a degree in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
from the University of Milan
University of Milan
The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....
. He left Italy for South Africa to specialise in cardiac surgery
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
, where he joined the team of Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Barnard
Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant.- Early life :...
, the famous surgeon. He later moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. On November 23, 1967 he married Giuliana Orefice, who gave birth to Paolo, their only child, five years later. Today Paolo is a musician and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
.
On January 1, 2003, the very first day of Jannacci's retirement, his friend Giorgo Gaber died after a long illness at his home near Camaiore
Camaiore
Camaiore is a town and comune of 31,503 inhabitants within the province of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. It stretches from the Alps to the east, to the plains and the coast of Versilia to the west.-Morphology:...
. He went to the funeral, which was held two days later at Abbazia di Chiaravalle where Gaber had married Ombretta Colli, but was only able to say that he had lost a brother.
Albums
- 1964 - La Milano di Enzo Jannacci (JollyJolly (record company)Jolly is a famous Italian record company founded in 1958 by Walter Guertler.From 1958 to 1970 Jolly published records of most of the famous Italian singers as Adriano Celentano, Enzo Jannacci, Fausto Leali, Nicola Di Bari, Luigi Tenco, Ennio Morricone, Tony Dallara, Franco Battiato, Cochi e...
LPJ 5037) - 1965 - Enzo Jannacci in teatro (liveLive albumA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
JollyJolly (record company)Jolly is a famous Italian record company founded in 1958 by Walter Guertler.From 1958 to 1970 Jolly published records of most of the famous Italian singers as Adriano Celentano, Enzo Jannacci, Fausto Leali, Nicola Di Bari, Luigi Tenco, Ennio Morricone, Tony Dallara, Franco Battiato, Cochi e...
LPJ 5043) - 1966 - Sei minuti all'alba (JollyJolly (record company)Jolly is a famous Italian record company founded in 1958 by Walter Guertler.From 1958 to 1970 Jolly published records of most of the famous Italian singers as Adriano Celentano, Enzo Jannacci, Fausto Leali, Nicola Di Bari, Luigi Tenco, Ennio Morricone, Tony Dallara, Franco Battiato, Cochi e...
LPJ 5071) - 1968 - Vengo anch'io. No, tu no (ARC ALPS 11007)
- 1968 - Le canzoni di Enzo Jannacci (Dischi Ricordi MRP 9050; collection of single records and unpublished Ricordi and Tavola Rotonda)
- 1970 - La mia gente (ARC ALPS 11021)
- 1972 - Giorgio Gaber e Enzo Jannacci (Family single records from 1959 to 1960 with Giorgio GaberGiorgio GaberGiorgio Gaber, byname of Giorgio Gaberscik , was an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian...
) - 1972 - Jannacci Enzo (RCA Italiana, PSL 10539)
- 1975 - Quelli che... (Ultima Spiaggia, ZLUS 55180)
- 1976 - O vivere o ridere (Ultima Spiaggia, ZLUS 55189)
- 1977 - Secondo te...Che gusto c'è? (Ultima Spiaggia, ZPLS 34027)
- 1979 - Fotoricordo (Ultima Spiaggia, ZPLS 34075)
- 1980 - Ci vuole orecchio (Dischi Ricordi SMRL 6266)
- 1980 - Nuove registrazioni (Dischi Ricordi-Orizzonte ORL 8430)
- 1981 - E allora...Concerto (Dischi Ricordi SMRL 6282)
- 1983 - Discogreve (Dischi Ricordi SMRL 6302)
- 1983 - Ja-Ga Brothers (CGDCompagnia Generale del DiscoCGD was an Italian record label.-History:CGD was founded in 1948 by singer Teddy Reno. At that time it was established in Milan in Via Passarella 4...
with Giorgio GaberGiorgio GaberGiorgio Gaber, byname of Giorgio Gaberscik , was an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian...
) - 1985 - L'importante (DDD)
- 1987 - Parlare con i limoni (DDD)
- 1989 - Se me lo dicevi prima e altri successi (collection with unpublished too, DDD)
- 1989 - 30 anni senza andare fuori tempo (collection: liveRecorded live trackA recorded live track is a song or audio sequence recorded from live performances .Live song tracks typically have concert hall noise . Though often less precise than practiced, studio recordings, live recordings may offer a more exciting feel...
, DDD) - 1991 - Guarda la fotografia (DDD)
- 1994 - I soliti accordi (DDD)
- 1998 - Quando un musicista ride (collection with unpublished too)
- 2001 - Come gli aeroplani
- 2003 - L'uomo a metà
- 2005 - Milano 3.6.2005 (collection)
- 2006 - The Best 2006 (collection with unpublished too)
Collaborations
- Mina quasi Jannacci (1977, with Mina)
- Milva la rossa (1980, with MilvaMilvaMaria Ilva Biolcati , known as Milva, is an Italian singer, actress and television personality. She is also known as 'La Rossa', , due to the colour of her hair, and additionally as the 'Panther of Goro', which stems from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female...
)
Singles
- L'Armando/La forza dell'amore (May 4, 1964)
- Sfiorisci bel fiore/Non è vero (April 30, 1965)
- Veronica/Soldato Nencini (May 17, 1965)
- Per un basin/Ninna nanna per un bambino (February 9, 1966)
- Ho visto un re/Bobo Merenda (1968)
- Il terzino d'Olanda/Gli zingari (1969)
- Mexico e nuvole/Pensare che... (1970)
- Brutta gente/Il panettiere (1974)
- Vincenzina e la fabbrica/Vincenzina e la fabbrica (strumentale) (1974)
- El me indiriss/Quelli che... (1975)
- Linea bianca/Moviola (September 9, 1983)
- Mi-mi-la-lan!/La bambina lupo (1984)
- Se me lo dicevi prima/Vita e bottoni (march 1989)
Duets
- With Claudio BaglioniClaudio BaglioniClaudio Baglioni is an Italian musician. His various works include the official Anthem for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. He has also written for previous sporting events....
: Canzone intelligente, E la vita la vita (in Anime in gioco by Claudio Baglioni, 1997), La forza dell'amore and Vincenzina e la fabbrica - With Adriano CelentanoAdriano CelentanoAdriano Celentano is an Italian singer, songwriter, comedian, actor, film director and TV host.-Biography:Celentano was born in Milan at 14 Via Gluck, about which he later wrote the famous song "Il ragazzo della via Gluck"...
: Ho visto un re - With Paolo ContePaolo ContePaolo Conte is an Italian singer, pianist, composer, and lawyer notable for his grainy, resonant voice, his colourful and dreamy compositions and his wistful, sometimes melancholic...
: Bartali - With Dario FoDario FoDario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...
(from 1964 to 1980 he contributed to about forty songs of Dario Fo): Ho visto un re - With Giorgio GaberGiorgio GaberGiorgio Gaber, byname of Giorgio Gaberscik , was an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian...
(whom he made two albums above mentioned with): Canzone intelligente, Ho visto un re, La strana famiglia and Una fetta di limone - With Irene GrandiIrene Grandi-Biography:Irene Grandi was born in Florence.She debuted in the Sanremo Music Festival in the category New Proposed with "Fuori", in 1994, which was later won by Andrea Bocelli, who was also debuting the same year....
: Bum bum and Ragazzo padre - With LigabueLigabueLigabue is a surname, and may refer to:*Antonio Ligabue , Italian naïve painter*Luciano Ligabue , Italian singer, songwriter, book writer and film director...
: Ci vuole orecchio - With Mia MartiniMia MartiniMia Martini was an Italian singer.-Early life:Born Domenica Bertè in 1947 in Bagnara Calabra , she moved to Rome with her sister and her friend Renato Zero.-Career:She recorded her first records as Mimì Berté, but she soon decided to change her name to Mia...
: Io e te - With Renato PozzettoRenato PozzettoRenato Pozzetto is an Italian personality. He has performed as an actor, director, stand-up comedian and singer in Italy.-Biography:...
: Canzone intelligente, E la vita la vita and Ho visto un re - With Paolo Rossi: Ho visto un re and I soliti accordi
- With Enrico RuggeriEnrico RuggeriEnrico Ruggeri is an Italian rock singer-songwriter.-Biography:A native of Milan, Ruggeri made his debut in the 1970s with the punk band Decibel...
: Ci vuole orecchio - With Roberto VecchioniRoberto VecchioniRoberto Vecchioni is an Italian singer-songwriter and writer.-Biography:Vecchioni was born in Carate Brianza, province of Milan, to a family of Neapolitan origin. In 1968 he graduated in Classical Literature at the Università Cattolica of Milan, where he remained for two years as assistant...
: Luci a San Siro and Veronica - With Francesco De GregoriFrancesco De GregoriFrancesco De Gregori is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is popularly known as "Il Principe Poeta" , a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics.-1970s:...
: Sfiorisci bel fiore - With Fabrizio De AndrèFabrizio De AndréFabrizio De André was an Italian singer-songwriter.Known for his sympathies towards anarchism, libertarianism, and pacifism, he also was a convicted atheist , and his songs often featured marginalized and rebellious people, prostitutes and knaves, and attacked the Catholic Church...
: Via del campo
The Italian artist who collaborated with Enzo Jannacci are really a lot. just few of them: his son Paolo, Beppe Viola, Cochi e Renato, Bruno Lauzi
Bruno Lauzi
Bruno Lauzi was an Italian singer-songwriter.-Biography:Lauzi was born in Asmara, then part of the Italian Eastern Africa...
, Loredana Berté
Loredana Bertè
Loredana Bertè is an Italian singer. In her long career she has worked with some of the best Italian songwriters such as Enrico Ruggeri, Pino Daniele, Ivano Fossati, Mario Lavezzi, Enzo Jannacci and Mango, among others. She has experimented with different genres, from rock to reggae, from funk to...
, Lino Toffolo, Umberto Bindi
Umberto Bindi
Umberto Bindi was an Italian singer-songwriter.He is especially known for the popular song he co-wrote with Gino Paoli, Il Mio Mondo , which he recorded in Italian in 1963. It was later performed by singers in English and other languages.Bindi was born in Bogliasco , Italy, and was classically...
, Giorgio Strehler
Giorgio Strehler
Giorgio Strehler was an Italian opera and theatre director.-Biography:Strehler was born in Barcola, Trieste to an Austrian father and a Franco-Slovene mother; he grew up speaking Italian but spoke French well and his German was passable. He became suddenly fatherless at the age of three, his...
, Sandro Ciotti, Lina Wertmuller
Lina Wertmüller
Lina Wertmüller is an Italian film writer and director of aristocratic Swiss descent. In 1976, she became the first woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing with the film Seven Beauties.-Biography:...
, Massimo Boldi
Massimo Boldi
Massimo Antonio Boldi is an Italian stand-up comedian and actor.- Biography :Been very soon orphan of father, Boldi began to work as a window-dresser from a young age before taking a job selling confectionery. On 29 September 1973 Boldi married Marisa Selo...
and Pino Donaggio
Pino Donaggio
Giuseppe "Pino" Donaggio is an Italian composer.Born in Burano , into a family of musicians, Donaggio began studying violin at the age of ten, first at the Benedetto Marcello conservatory in Venice, followed by the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan...
.
Soundtracks
- Romanzo popolare (directed by Mario MonicelliMario MonicelliMario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...
, 1974) - Pasqualino settebellezze (directed by Lina WertmullerLina WertmüllerLina Wertmüller is an Italian film writer and director of aristocratic Swiss descent. In 1976, she became the first woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing with the film Seven Beauties.-Biography:...
, 1975) - Nomination to the Oscar trophy - L'Italia s'è rotta (directed by StenoStefano VanzinaSteno, the artistic name of Stefano Vanzina was an Italian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer...
, 1976) - Gran bollito (directed by Mauro BologniniMauro BologniniMauro Bolognini was an Italian film director of literate sensibility, known for masterful handling of period subject matter.-Biography:Mauro Bolognini was born in Pistoia, Tuscany....
, 1977) - Saxofone (directed by Renato PozzettoRenato PozzettoRenato Pozzetto is an Italian personality. He has performed as an actor, director, stand-up comedian and singer in Italy.-Biography:...
, 1978) - Piccoli equivoci (directed by Ricky TognazziRicky TognazziRiccardo Tognazzi is an Italian actor and film director. He has appeared in 50 films and television shows since 1963. His film The Escort was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival...
, 1988)