Who is Enrico

Several record stores in the United States have moved his CD’s from the “Blues” shelves to the “Guitar Hero” section, and have put them next to those by Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, and so forth. The definition of Guitar Hero might not look compatible with Enrico Crivellaro’s unassuming nature and with his genuine and humble devotion to music, but it definitely serves to perfectly photograph the status of a guitarist who has earned international fame, and who is considered to be one of the most influential of his generation, thanks to a style that bridges Blues with Jazz and American Roots Music.

Enrico’s latest album, “Mojo Zone” (on the Canadian/US label Electro-Fi Records) has contributed to elevate him to such status. The record has been widely acclaimed and has received excellent reviews, among which stands out a 4-star review by Downbeat—the world’s most prestigious Jazz and Blues magazine. Downbeat traditionally bestows four stars only to few selected records, and justifies them with the acknowledgment that “Mojo Zone sets the gold standard for blues instrumental albums,” pouring “inspiration, hypnotic feeling and emotional delicacy” into the songs, and that Enrico’s “stellar technique” will allow him to “conquer blues America”. A fantastic show at the 2009 Montreal Jazz Festival, in a packed venue in front of an enthusiastic audience, has proved that all this holds true, putting Enrico on the spot in the festival circuit in North America.

A former student of Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard and Kenny Burrell, Enrico Crivellaro has developed a refined yet explosive guitar style which has led him to tour, play and record with an impressive number of major-league artists—among them James Harman, the late Lester Butler of the Red Devils, Jeff Healey, Janiva Magness, Finis Tasby, Bruce Katz, the Royal Crown Revue (the band from “The Mask” movie), and legendary harmonica player Lee Oskar.

Born in Padova, Italy, but later relocating to Los Angeles, and now literally living in a suitcase and taking his music all around the world, Enrico Crivellaro has been able to prove that passion and talent can transcend political and cultural borders.

His reputation is growing all over the world as he tours regularly from the Americas to Europe, to Australia, to Asia and even Polynesia, playing the most renowned clubs and festivals (among them: Livid Festival, Brisbane, Australia; 2000 Paralympics Games, Sydney, Australia; Philips Dubai International Jazz Festival, Dubai, UAE; Belgium Rhythm’n’Blues Festival; Lucerne Blues Festival, Switzerland; Southside Shuffle, Toronto, Canada; Montreal International Jazz Festival, Canada; Boston Blues Festival; Sacramento Heritage Festival, California; Tucson Blues Festival, Arizona; Moulin Blues Festival, Holland; Universal Blues Festival, Singapore; Manly Jazz Festival, Australia; and many, many more!) and having often shared the bill with the likes of John Lee Hooker, B.B.King, Mose Allison, and so forth.

Enrico’s musical taste and guitar licks have been refined during his studies with several blues masters at the National Guitar Workshop, in Connecticut, and later at the University of California with jazz legend Kenny Burrell. But he has learned his trade “the old way”—by playing, literally, thousands of gigs everywhere, with some of the best artists in the contemporary blues scene. Enrico’s strength lies in his extraordinary versatility in different musical genres, which has allowed him to build an extraordinary experience playing with bands and artists of all extractions—soul jazz, country, funk and even zydeco. Yet his playing is firmly rooted in the blues language and his passion for Earl Hooker, Pee Wee Crayton and Lowell Fulson is pleasantly noticeable.

Signed by the excellent Canadian-US label Electro-Fi Records, Enrico has debuted with a well-arranged CD, “Key To My Kingdom”. His affiliation with Electro-Fi has opened the way to new opportunities—in fact Enrico has co-produced Finis Tasby’s CD “What My Blues Are All About” and has appeared with label-mate Mel Brown and his band, which comprises Bob Stroger and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith of the Muddy Waters Band.

The latest CD, “Mojo Zone”, is a 2009 Electro-Fi release which features 70 minutes of genre expanding blues guitar instrumentals, showcasing the incredible sonic range of one of the most gifted young guitarists working on the blues scene today.

Awards:

2004 best international contemporary blues guitarist--Thropees France Blues (France)
2003 best Italian blues guitarist--Blues and Blues awards (Italy)
2002 best international swing guitarist--Swing Awards (USA)

Selected Discography:

Enrico Crivellaro  Mojo Zone  Electro-Fi Records, Toronto, Canada, 2009

Enrico Crivellaro  Key To My Kingdom  Electro-Fi Records, Toronto, Canada, 2003

Enrico Crivellaro - Raphael Wressnig Organ Combo  Live At The Off Festival DVD/CD  ZYX Music/Koch Entertainment, Merenberg, Germany 2009

Enrico Crivellaro - Raphael Wressnig Organ Trio  Mosquito Bite  ZYX Music/Village, Merenberg, Germany, 2006

Finis Tasby  What My Blues Are All About  Electro-Fi Records, Toronto, Canada, 2005

David Rotundo  Blues Ignited  Stone Pillar Productions, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2003

Royal Crown Revue  Passport to Australia  RCR Records, Los Angeles, California, 2001   

Janiva Magness Band  My Bad Luck Soul  Blues Leaf Records, Deal, New Jersey, 1999

James Harman Band  Lonesome Moon Trance  Pacific Blues Records, Los Angeles, California, 2003

James Harman Band  Takin’ Chances  Cannonball Records, Chanhassen, Minnesota, 1998

Lester Butler Tribute Band  So Lowdown Tour 2002  CRS, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 2002

Jason Ricci Band  Down At The Juke  North Magnolia Music Company, Oxford, Mississippi, 1997  

KPCC 89.3 FM “Friday Night Blues Revue”  Friday Night Live  Pacific Blues Recording Company, Burbank, California, 2000

They say about him:

"Stellar technique" - "The gold standard for blues instrumental albums" (Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat Magazine, USA).

“Crivellaro has a predilection for twisting the predictable into sounding fresh. Crivellaro is more than another accomplished guitarist with a wide-ranging knowledge of the blues, jazz, and soul idioms at his fingertips. The edginess and intensity of the blues is often a dynamic counterpoint to the more relaxed vibe of the soul/jazz idioms” (Gary Tate, Bad Dog Blues, USA).

“Enrico Crivellaro is a guitarist whose style is sophisticated and creative, whose contributions are precise and straight to the point. On stage he is dynamite capable of setting the room on fire while remaining at the service of the band” (Jocelyn Richez, Blues Feelings, Paris, France).

“Despite his young age Enrico Crivellaro is quickly becoming recognized as one of the great world touring guitarists. Already regarded as a peer with other greats such as Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, Junior Watson, Alex Schultz and Rick Holmstrom, Enrico has just begun to tap into his calling” (Toronto Blues Society, Maple Blues, Toronto, Canada).

“A major talent with incredible taste” (King Biscuit Times, USA).

www.enricocrivellaro.com

And here is an older bio--but there are some interesting things!

Born in Padova, Italy, but later relocating to Los Angeles, Enrico Crivellaro has been able to prove that passion and talent can transcend political and cultural borders, becoming a well-respected, upcoming figure in the international blues scene. His versatility in different musical genres has allowed him to build an extraordinary experience, playing all over the world with blues, rock, jazz and country bands.
He began to play the guitar at a young age, soon showing a serious interest in the blues and in the various forms of traditional American music, such as jazz, swing, zydeco, country, gospel. Still in his teens he formed his own trio, with which he began to perform professionally all around Italy, averaging over twenty gigs per month--while in the meantime he was taking lessons (and inspiration) from guitar great Tolo Marton.
A scholarship, obtained through a demo tape, helped him become a student at the National Guitar Workshop in Connecticut, USA, where he had the opportunity to take classes with some of the masters of blues guitar--Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, Kenny Neal, Paul Rishell, Roy Bookbinder, John Jackson. Interestingly, one of his classmates and friends--at the time only fourteen years old and already a prodigy--was one of today’s guitar sensations, Sean Costello.
The experience at the Guitar Workshop and the encouragement of his teachers, particularly Earl and Robillard, convinced Enrico to take the big step and relocate to Boston. There he soon met Muddy Waters’ legendary guitarist, Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson, with whom he played in several occasions; he also enjoyed Boston’s stimulating music environment, jamming frequently with some of New England’s best known blues and jazz players, including Broadcasters’ pianist/organist Bruce Katz and drummer Per Hanson. He also teamed up with a young local harmonica player, Jason Ricci, who had lived in the Deep South and had been a member of Junior Kimbrough and his Soul Blues Boys. The friendship was to grow very significant for Crivellaro: in fact, Ricci became his guide in Mississippi, introducing him to the great local bluesmen--Junior Kimbrough, T-Model Ford, R.L. Burnside. The two ended up recording together in Memphis, with two very special drummers: Junior’s son Kinney Kimbrough, and Magic Sam and Earl Hooker’s bandmate Bobby Little.
After the period in Boston, Enrico decided to move to the milder climate of Los Angeles. Just two months later he scored second ranking in a state competition organized by Fender Guitars, which awarded him with an invitation to perform at the prestigious 1997 Fender Catalina Island Blues Festival, opening for Jimmie Vaughan. In addition, his relocation to California gave him the chance to play, tour and record with some of the West Coast’s best blues bands, including the James Harman Band, the Janiva Magness Band, the Freddie Brooks Band, Lynwood Slim, and the late Lester Butler’s incredible punk-rock-blues unit called “13”. With all of these bands Enrico has toured the United States and Europe extensively, playing some of the most renowned club and festival stages, often sharing the bill with or opening shows for the greatest names in the business--John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Mose Allison, Anson Funderburgh, Bill Wyman, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, John Mayall. He also plays regularly with a myriad of top-notch artists, such as singer and Freddie King’s bass player Finis Tasby, John Lee Hooker’s organist Deacon Jones, guitarists Junior Watson, Alex Schultz, Kirk “Eli” Fletcher, Kid Ramos, Rick Holmstrom, Abu Talib (aka Freddie Robinson), Roy “Guitar” Gaines, Cal Green, Johnny Turner, and with Los Angeles’ legendary bluesman J.J. “Bad Boy” Jones. Among his best appearances can be counted the 1999 Long Beach Blues Festival, where he performed with Chicago harp player Sugar Blue, and was invited to jam with Al Green’s band. He also recalls fondly a jam with a drunk Roger Clinton, brother of President Bill.
In Los Angeles, Enrico’s mature knowledge of 1940’s jazz guitar styles was recognized by the swing-rock band Royal Crown Revue, renowned for being featured in the movie “The Mask.” The band took him to Australia for a tour that included a performance at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics Games, and the participation at the Livid Festival in Brisbane, in front of 80,000 spectators and along with Lou Reed, The Cure, Green Day, No Doubt and several other rock bands.
Despite the difficulties induced by continuous touring, Enrico found the time to complete his studies and graduate at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His interest in African-American culture, of which music is undeniably a building block, allowed him to actualize the dream to study with the director of the UCLA Jazz Department, his long-time jazz guitar hero Kenny Burrell. Although Enrico doesn’t consider himself a true jazz-bebop player, it is obvious that his refined rhythm playing (so appreciated by blues singers and harmonica players!) displays echoes of Burrell, as well as of those musicians who combine the sophistication of jazz with the funkiness of blues--such as pianists Gene Harris and Les McCann, organist Jimmy McGriff, and guitarists T-Bone Walker and George Benson. The jazz influence in his playing has definitely been stimulated by the lessons that he took from George Benson’s bandmate Phil Upchurch, and by the seminar that he attended with virtuoso Robben Ford.
Enrico Crivellaro is a quite articulate and elegant player, who not only knows in detail several musical styles, but who also tries to smooth off the boundaries between them. His attempt is to make music that is interesting rather than conceptual, and that doesn’t forget the two basic rules of blues and Black Music: groove and dynamics. A quick look at some of Enrico’s regular or occasional jam partners can confirm that his guitar playing branches out in hundreds of, often unexpected, directions: from blues players, like Little Charlie and the Nightcats or Junior Watson, to rockers such as Tracy Guns and Teddy Andreas of Guns’n’Roses and L.A. Guns, Eric Singer (drummer for Kiss), and Peter Tork of The Monkees; from jumping jazz organists like Red Young (Joan Armatrading), Oscar Marchioni, Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix, Taj Mahal), to country pickers Al Bruno (Chet Atkins), Marty Rifkin (Bruce Springsteen), or James Intveld; from lions of the Doo-Wop such as Eddie Daniels of The Platters or Ice-T backing singers The Real Seductions, to Brazilian bossa nova guitarist Beto di Franco and to zydeco accordion players like Jimmy Thibodeaux.
No matter what kind of music he is playing--could it be gospel or fusion--Enrico Crivellaro likes to be in the context, yet without forgetting that the roots are in the blues.