Artist
ARTI & MESTIERI
1974:
Gigi Venegoni (guitar, synth)
Beppe Crovella (keyboards)
Giovanni Vigliar (violin, vocals, percussion)
Arturo Vitale (sax, clarinet, vibes)
Marco Gallesi (bass)
Furio Chirico (drums, percussion)
1975:
Gianfranco Gaza (vocals) added
One of the bands from the Cramps label, Arti &
Mestieri from Turin were formed around 1974 by ex-Trip drummer Furio Chirico
(he had previously played with I Ragazzi del Sole and Martò e i Judas) with
other musicians
from various musical experiences. Venegoni, Vigliar and Vitale had
previously played with Il Sogno di Archimede, a jazzy-prog group.
Often playing with Area, they shared with them the same interest in fusing
jazz-rock with prog elements, and their first album, Tilt, is a very good
result, even if the limited vocal parts were their weakest point. The album
includes only two vocal tracks, and the rest is mainly instrumental.
The group had a good live activity, supporting the
likes of PFM and even Gentle Giant, as demonstrated by
the good and now deleted Live CD released in 1990 (another live CD with
a different 1974 recording has been released in 2002, see below for details).
On the second album, 1975's Giro di valzer per
domani, a singer was added, Gianfranco Gaza from Procession, and the album
has a much better sound and production than the previous one, in a similar style
as the previous one but with stronger jazz rock influences. Two of the album's best cuts,
the instrumental Valzer per domani and the
vocal Saper sentire were also released as a single.
In 1979 another Arti & Mestieri album was released,
Quinto stato, always led by Chirico but with a different line-up
and more in a mainstream jazz-rock vein, while subsequent releases strongly veered
towards fusion.
Fourth album, Acquario, is not a live album as declared on the front
cover, just a live-in-studio recording. Like its follower, Children's blues,
it was released on a small label with local distribution only.
Guitarist Venegoni also released two solo albums on Cramps as
Venegoni & Co., always in the same jazz-rock style as later Arti & Mestieri.
Drummer Furio Chirico has continued playing and teaching his instrument, also
releasing solo albums and some drum playing tutorials. He's the first italian
drummer ever playing at the Modern Drummer Festival in USA (2002 edition).
Keyboardist Crovella has played and taken production role on new prog bands' albums such as
Romantic Warriors, Tower, Mosaic.
A revived Arti & Mestieri with original members
Venegoni, Crovella, Gallesi and Chirico aided by Marco Cimino (from Errata
Corrige, he had already joined the band on Quinto Stato, both he and
Gallesi were also in Esagono) and violinist
Corrado Trabuio released a new CD Murales in 2001 on the small
Electromantic label. Mostly instrumental and somehow influenced by jazz and world music,
the CD also includes reworkings of a couple of tracks from the early albums, Gravità
9,81 and Nove lune prima.
Fans of the early Arti & Mestieri will be delighted to know of a recent CD release called Articollezione,
a compilation of
unreleased tracks from their first period, more in a progressive style than
later works.
Another very nice recent release is the double Live 1974/2000 CD. As the title suggests it includes a whole 1974 concert (all the tracks from the previous Vinyl Magic Live CD are included here along with some more, but taken from a different concert) while the second CD is dedicated to 1999 and 2000 live recordings.
Summer 2003 has seen the group playing with a new line-up
with expanded vocal capabilities, Arti & Mestieri appeared at ProgDay 2003,
in North Carolina, at the end of August.
Founder members Furio Chirico and Beppe
Crovella are now helped by Corrado Trabuio (violin, vocals), Slep (guitar,
vocals) and Roberto Cassetta (bass, vocals), and they have a powerful live show
entirely based on their 1974-75 albums... a welcome return!
The 2004 album by Arti & Mestieri, recorded by the new line-up, is Progday
special, a 4-track CD collecting old tracks recorded live in studio to
promote the band in their new journey abroad. The Electromantic label has also released in 2004 the first solo album by the
original bass player Marco Gallesi, entitled Riff.
In 2005 another new studio work, called Estrazioni, and strongly
connected with the earlier productions starting with its cover design. The
record includes some tracks composed for a never released third album in 1977
along with more recent compositions, and is on a varied level but very promising
indeed. The new line-up includes Marco Roagna (guitar) replacing Slep, and
Alfredo Ponissi (sax), along with a guest appearance by the original guitarist Gigi
Venegoni. The band is augmented in concert by
guests Warren Dale on sax and flute and singer Iano Nicolò, frontman of the
group Cantina Sociale, from Piedmont.
Also in 2005 the band played in Japan, at Tokyo's Club Città, and a live CD taken from those concerts, entitled First live in Japan, has been released at the end of 2006.
A box set meant to celebrate the first album Tilt and the entire group's career, entitled 33 was finally released in early 2008, a nice package including an LP, a CD, 2 DVD's and various inserts.
(the trolley icon 
lets you order the CD from BTF website)
| LP | |||
| Tilt | Cramps (CRSLP 5501) | 1974 | single cover with lyric inner - early copies distributed by Ricordi, later by Baby Records - some copies with insert and poster |
| Cramps (5205 501) | 1978 | as above | |
| Akarma (AK 1024) | 2001 | single cover with lyric inner | |
| Giro di valzer per domani | Cramps (CRSLP 5502) | 1975 | gatefold cover with lyric inner |
| Cramps (5205 502) | 1978 | as above | |
| Akarma (AK 1025) | 2001 | gatefold cover with lyric inner - reissue contains 2 bonus tracks | |
| Quinto stato | Cramps (5205 505) | 1979 | gatefold cover with lyric inner |
| Acquario | Studio (SMS 1002) | 1983 | single cover |
| Children's blues | Edizioni Augusta (MS 1009) | 1985 | single cover |
| Murales | Electromantic (ARTLP 2001) | 2001 | single cover - also on CD (ART 401) with 4 extra tracks |
| 33 | Electromantic (AEM 33) | 2008 | limited issue box set including LP, CD, 2 DVD's, booklet and inserts |
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CD |
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| Tilt | Vinyl Magic (VM 004) | 1989 | reissue of 1974 album - now deleted |
| Edel (CRA 0136542) |
2000 | as above - digipack cover | |
| Akarma (AK 1024) | 2001 | as above - mini gatefold cover | |
| Giro di valzer per domani | Vinyl Magic (VM 005) | 1989 | reissue of 1975 album - now deleted |
| Edel (CRA 0136552) |
2000 | as above - digipack cover | |
| Akarma (AK 1025) | 2001 | as above - mini gatefold cover | |
| Live | Vinyl Magic (VM 018) | 1990 | now deleted |
| Quinto stato | Cramps (300 045-2) | 1995 | reissue of 1979 album -now deleted |
| EMI (857433-2) | 90's | as above -now deleted | |
| Edel (CRA 0138672) |
2000 | as above - digipack cover | |
| Murales | Electromantic (ART 401) |
2001 | mini-gatefold cover - 4 bonus tracks |
| Articollezione | Electromantic (ART 403) |
2001 | compilation of 1972-75 unreleased recordings - mini-gatefold cover |
| Live 1974/2000 | Electromantic (ART 4078) |
2002 | 2CD - live recordings from 1974 and 1999/2000 |
| Progday special | Electromantic (ART 4101) |
2003 | 4-track mini album recorded live in studio |
| Acquario | Electromantic (TJRS 1961) |
2004 | reissue of 1983 album |
| Children's blues | Electromantic (TJRS 1962) |
2004 | reissue of 1985 album |
| Estrazioni | Electromantic (AEM 95251) |
2005 | new studio album |
| First live in Japan | Electromantic (AEM 95253) |
2006 | live album recorded in Tokyo in 2005 |
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VARIOUS ARTISTS COMPILATION ALBUMS |
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| La musica dissennata
degli anni '70 (with Gravità 9.81, Valzer per domani, Saper sentire) |
Cramps (5208 004) | 1980 | released in the "Successo" series by Polygram - also includes tracks by Bella Band, Canzoniere del Lazio, Venegoni & Co. |
| Dedicato a Marilyn (with Marilyn) |
Fonit (9031-72346-1-1) | 1990 | box set - available on LP and CD LP version includes 2LP's, a picture disc and a 40-page book also features tracks by Pete Seeger, Marty Balin, Perfume, Jane Birkin, Fred Buscaglione, Riccardo Cocciante, Roberta D'Angelo, Louis Hayes, Ian Campbell Folk Group, Francesco Baccini, Assemblea Musicale Teatrale and others |
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SINGLES (with picture cover) |
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| Valzer per domani Saper sentire |
Cramps (CRSNP 1901) | 1975 | two tracks from Giro di valzer per domani |
| Managua Lemon vodka |
Edizioni Augusta (MS 2011) | 1984 | both unreleased tracks |
Rather easy to find, the Arti & Mestieri albums have
also been reissued on Akarma, at least the first two of them.
The first two LP's originally came out with CRSLP catalogue numbers and were
later repressed around 1978 with new Cramps
numbering. The first issue of Tilt has a "Distribuzione Dischi Ricordi Spa"
credit on the back
cover, it was later distributed by Baby Records.
Like most LP releases on that label, all the Cramps
albums contain a black & white inner with typed lyrics and pictures.
The very first issue of Tilt contained a funnel-shaped cardboard insert,
and some copies also included a poster with the same design as the cover. Both
these inserts are very rare.
2001's album Murales has been released both on
vinyl and CD, the latter including four extra tracks, among which a reworking of
Arti's classic Gravità 9.81, originally on Tilt.
New CD reissues include the two jazzy works Acquario and Children's
Blues, both never before on CD and now in the TJRS (Turin Jazz Rock School)
series on the Electromantic label.
A japanese vinyl issue exists of Tilt (Warner-Pioneer
P-10303C) and Acquario (Nexus/King K22P 412).
Giro di valzer per domani was issued in France with the title Tour de
valse pour demain (Cramps 940518).
Quinto stato was issued in Portugal on Cramps/EMI Valentim De
Carvalho label (no.P-5205-505)
No counterfeits exist.
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Tilt - front cover |
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| Tilt - funnel-shaped insert and promotional poster | |
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| Giro di valzer per domani - front and back cover | |
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Quinto stato - front cover |
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Acquario - front cover |
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Children's blues - front cover |
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| Valzer per domani - 7" single | Managua - 7" single |
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| Live - CD cover | Murales - CD cover |
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| Articollezione - CD cover | Live 1974/2000 - CD cover |
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| Progday special - CD cover | Estrazioni - CD cover |
Click on pictures to enlarge
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| Arti & Mestieri 2003
in the studio L to R: Chirico - Cassetta Trabuio - Crovella - Slep |
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| 2003 promotional pictures | |
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| Live 12-aug-2003 in Atri (TE) | |
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| Live 31-aug-2003 at ProgDay USA | |
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| Live 29-set-2005 at 70's Flowers Festival, Fano (PU) | |
A new Arti & Mestieri website is going to be launched at www.artiemestieri.org
Drummer Furio Chirico has his own website at www.furiochirico.com
Info and MP samples from latest Arti & Mestieri releases can be found on Electromantic Music's website at www.electromantic.com
Many thanks to Furio Chirico for
friendship, information and the studio picture and to Danilo Sala and Arti & Mestieri for the promotional and
ProgDay pictures.
Also thanks to Marco D'Alia, Giuliano
Semprucci, Nicola Benelli for some of the pictures included in this page.
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