The café chantant, also known as café concert since the 1860s, was the most popular venue for drinks and variety entertainment in 19th-century Paris (the repertoire included romances, comic songs and operettas, as well as magicians, pantomimes, marionettes, acrobats, clowns, trained animals, dancers, etc.). In the late 1800s and early 1900s, café chantants became very popular not only in France, but throughout Europe.
Inspired by this fascinating tradition, in 1981 Italian pianist, composer and producer Fabio Borgazzi wrote a number of instrumental pieces for small orchestral ensembles, enlisting violinist Paolo Mezzaroma as an arranger. A formidable soloist, Mezzaroma is the shining star of this really graceful and enjoyable album, which Four Flies is making available for the first time ever in digital format. The tracks range from cheerful dance numbers ("Ah, la mossa!"; "Il Galoppino") to slow, nocturnal ballads ("Claire De Lune"), capturing the exciting and playful atmosphere of a late 19th-century Italian café chantant.