“Heroes”, Paolo Fresu's tribute to David Bowie, on 2 August at the Teatro Fonderia Leopolda in Follonica (GR)

“Heroes”, Paolo Fresu's tribute to David Bowie, on 2 August at the Teatro Fonderia Leopolda in Follonica (GR).

Wednesday 2 August at 21pm, Fonderia Leopolda Theater in Follonica (GR), Paolo Fresu plays David Bowie in the company of a stellar cast with Petra Magoni, Filippo Vignato, Francesco Diodati, Francesco Ponticelli, Christian Meyer. “As soon as this project was proposed to me (by the Tuscan municipality of Monsummano Terme where in 1969 Bowie made his first Italian public appearance as a complete stranger)”, declares Paolo Fresu, “I felt honored and excited. I decided to put it together a unique band, created specifically, with great eclectic musicians coming from different experiences, even far from jazz. I think this is a great value. Getting closer to David Bowie's music is a great emotion and also an extraordinary opportunity for all of us."

Fresu and his associates got their hands on around thirty pieces, including Life on Mars, This Is Not America, Warszawa, When I Live My Dreams. Each member of the band gave their own contribution to the arrangements, giving greater variety and dynamism to the project. Petra Magoni, as a vocalist, enjoys greater freedom, but the concert still focuses on teamwork. Returning to Fresu's words: “Bowie is an immortal author which has always been close to the jazz. We will try to have the utmost respect for his art but also to be proactive, casting a new look at these songs."

Paolo Fresu: 360° omnivore is today one of the best known Italian jazz musicians on the planet. The sound of his trumpet, as Carla Bley says, is truly unique in the world. Petra Magoni: from Bobby McFerrin to sacred music through rock and “Musica Nuda”. Few voices and personalities are so eclectic under these skies. Filippo Vignato: he grew up in a family where music has always been at home and… you can hear it. Top marks both at the Paris Conservatory where he studied and from the public and critics who crossed his path. One of the best trombonists around. Francesco Diodati: “Diodati's guitar language is original, diverse and totally contemporary. He can rock out” – Jazztimes. Francesco Ponticelli: “a sort of tailor-made tailor, capable of building musical architecture of great quality and ranging with his research in the great sea of ​​music that counts”. Christian Meyer: Not just Elio e le Storie Tese but authentic Swiss energy capable of moving and making everything and everyone move. A sort of quintessence of rhythm tout-court.

At 23pm at the Cloister of the Leopolda Foundry the appointment is back Gray Cat with Meet Music and Gray Cat Contest. Meet Music gives life to an important event in Follonica which brings together artists and professionals from the complex supply chain of the music scene with the aim of professional growth in the sector through meetings, training, discussion and exchange of creative energies and with the performance of young musicians and DJ in four different contests. From 2022, in collaboration with Gray Cat Festival, a new contest is born with the aim of enhancing the encounter between electronic music and live music; Gabriele SRD is the winner of the 2023 edition and will present his music in the after show on August 2nd. He will interact with him, live, Emanuele Cannatella, aka Joint Sax, a professional saxophonist who has been playing in the best clubs in Italy for more than fifteen years.

Entrance to the concert: numbered first places €28, numbered second places €24
23pm at the Cloister: € 2
Gray Cat Festival is promoted by the municipal administrations of Follonica, Scarlino, Grosseto, Roccastrada, Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, Castiglione della Pescaia, Massa Marittima, Monterotondo Marittimo, Montieri, Roccastrada, Suvereto, (involving three provincial territories) and by Parco delle Colline Metalliferous. The organization and management of the festival is handled by the Music Pool Association, the artistic direction by Stefano "Cocco" Cantini and boasts a very rich series of collaborations, including the FAI - Grosseto Delegation.
The Festival is supported by the Tuscany Region and, as part of the Music Pool projects, by the Ministry of Culture and the CR Firenze Foundation.