The story we want to tell you is one that few people in Battipaglia know even if it is the story of a boy born right here and became famous all over the world. Carmelo “Larry” Nocella was born on December 18, in 1949, a few years after the arrival of the Americans for the most important landing in the Mediterranean, in a city that stands out, among others, for the speed of its reconstruction, after being completely razed to the ground by American bombers.
In 1943, following the Allied troops, many jazz and swing musicians landed and confronted young local musicans, involving them in concerts and performances and from that meeting the premises for what would become established jazz schools of the Italian music scene were born.
Larry attends the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Naples, and approaches jazz listening to Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan and John Coltrane. His artistic life leads him to Milan, Turin and Paris, Larry is gifted with perfect pitch and becomes one of the greatest Italian jazz players, entering the Area and collaborating with Pino Daniele.
He disappeared too young at only 39 years of age.
Saturday 21 May at 8.30 pm at the Auditorium San Gregorio VII in via Alessandro Manzoni, 75 Battipaglia remembers Larry Nocella, the journalist Carlo Pecoraro will stage the show “Everything happens to me”, a story in words, images and videos of the life of the saxophonist Larry Nocella. On stage, with the journalist from Salerno, the actors Alessio Bisaccia and Simone Strianese who will read some passages from a historic interview with the journalist Carlo Verri and some stories inspired by the events of the saxophonist written, for the occasion, by Carlo Pecoraro. Carmen Picciariello presents the evening.
Admission is free but reservations are recommended. For info and reservations 328 254 4075- info@mubat.it.
The show is part of “War music” for the “Avalanche Day, when jazz landed” segment, a project of the “9 September” center of the Mubat association for the Avalanche Day 2022 edition, in collaboration with the Municipal Administration of Battipaglia.
“War music” distinguishes this year the edition of Avalanche Day, proposing to narrate a cross-section of the unusual war, or the music seen with the eyes that those involved in war events: the American Jazz that lands in Salerno and Naples, Music, a moment of “escape” in the prison and concentration camps, as in Ferramonti, but also music against the war.
The project imagined by Carlo Bruno includes the artistic direction of Guglielmo Francese and the scientific supervision of Francesco Cacciatore, the collaboration of Carmen Picciariello, Carlo Pecoraro, the Conservatorio Martucci of Salerno, the CDEC of Milan and various other associations the area. Some of the events have already been realized but the complete event plan will be presented shortly.