Alavò

A-la-vò, in the ancestral sounds of the Sicilian language, is an invitation to sleep — a lullaby.

This group explores the roots of the music from my homeland — a place which, as the poet Gesualdo Bufalino so vividly described, “has had the fortune to find itself hinging over the centuries between the great Western culture and the temptations of the desert and the sun, between reason and magic, between feeling and the heatwaves of passion”.

Many have passed through the island, and this blend of influences has given our culture — and our music — a distinctive flavor, a color, an identity.
It has long been a deep source of inspiration for me, and after many years of research, I’m proud to present this new project, named Alavò.

For this work, I have meticulously selected and arranged a repertoire of ancient Sicilian melodies, brought to life by the band: Alba Armengou on vocals and trumpet, Vicente López on guitar, Tramel Levalle on percussion, and myself on electric and acoustic bass, flute, and mandolin. Santi de la Rubia will also appear as a guest on tenor and soprano saxophone, and a string quartet will be featured on one track — Ciuriddi di lu chianu — the only exception in a repertoire otherwise entirely drawn from folk melodies.