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Film soundtracks evoke strong emotions but often stand back in favor of performers and stage direction. However, the music created for big orchestras remains in the memory of the viewer -- it leaves its mark, even when the movie has long finished. But what is left if one tries to dissect a complex piece of orchestral score music into its components in an effort to take every individual part seriously? The international ensemble Mi Loco Tango dared to do so. The four musicians, fascinated by the "secret" power of Italian film soundtracks, experimented with their own instruments. Is it possible to play just four instruments and create a sound experience equal to the quality of the big orchestras, and even further, to add to it? The answer is "yes," because the various possibilities of playing the instruments within the quartet, consisting of an accordion, a violin, a piano and a double bass, are taken to the limit. The soundtracks of the great Italian composers are taken further by this reduction. Special guest Franco De Gemini (harmonica) did for the harmonica what Anton Karas did for the zither with the theme from The Third Man. Nearly 40 years ago, De Gemini played "The Man With The Harmonica" for Sergio Leone's classic Western Once Upon A Time In The West, probably the most famous harmonica tune in movie history. This in-demand studio musician and composer of the virtuoso harmonica has played a part in more than 800 soundtracks. The arrangements of the pieces played by Mi Loco Tango were created with the help of Alberto Mompellio, one of the most in-demand studio musicians in Italy. Among others, he has worked with Fabrizio De Andre and Milva. His commissions for compositions and orchestral arrangements of soundtracks led him to Hollywood (e.g. Igby Goes Down, All The Queen's Men). Mi Loco Tango interpret music from Amarcord, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West, The Mass Is Over, 8½, Rocco And His Brothers, Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion, Life Is Beautiful, Cinema Paradiso, The Vikings, A Fistful Of Dynamite, The Godfather, Two Women, and The Orchestra Rehearsal.
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