Paul Reddick celebrates great friendship, great music, and great surroundings with his latest album Alive In Italia — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“This record is somewhat of a love letter to Italy and our friends there,” Toronto’s Juno-winning singer, songwriter and harmonica master muses. “If I had one wish come true today, I would be sitting on a patio on the narrow, cobbled streets of Italy’s Sestri Levante … I’d be kept cool by a sea breeze, and be drinking a glass of red wine. I would be celebrating in the fine company of my Italian and Canadian musician friends, and savouring the endless beauty of that place and that moment. We would talk about the shows we have played together, and we’d remember and drink ‘to’ one evening in particular: the one in a wooden beamed theatre among those piacevole foothills of Piemonte … The one where we performed as one, come fratelli, as brothers, Alive In Italia.”
Alive In Italia serves as a reflective retrospective of Reddick’s long-storied, boundary-breaking songwriting across 10 previous albums, and features songs from his last five — including the Juno-winning Ride The One. Beyond Reddick and his inimitable vocals and harmonica, the live band on the record includes musicians Steve Marriner and Tony D of MonkeyJunk. The Canadian crew was joined by Italians Gab D on bass and Andrea Costanzo on drums — plus Fabio Marzaroli on guitar for The Other Man — who are known across the country as The Gamblers.
“We travelled to them,” Reddick says of the choice location in northern Italy’s stunning Piemonte region. “I was on tour in Europe with MonkeyJunk about two years ago, and we decided to extend our visits. A beautiful friendship was born. We put together the band that you hear on Alive In Italia and, one year later — Nov. 10th, 2019 — we were back together again to record at Museo Tornielli in Ameno, Novara, Italy. This recording is a document of friendship, music, and the endless beauty of Italy. And when it all came together, it inspired this emotional and celebratory concert.”
Dubbed the Poet Laureate of the Blues, his dedication “Blues is a beautiful landscape” led Reddick to create the annual Cobalt Prize for Contemporary Blues Composition in 2014 to encourage the growth and vitality of the genre. In keeping with such, Alive In Italia’s nuanced performances reflect an intimate approach to his signature lyrical material while the music ushers the listener on an explorative journey through folk, roots and blues.
Listen to Alive In Italia above, watch Paul Reddick and his bandmates play Bella Bambina below, and keep up with him on his website, Twitter and Facebook.
