Adelmo Fornaciari, better known to the world as Zucchero (a nickname given to him by one of his school teachers), has achieved worldwide acclaim since winning the Italian Castrocaro Festival in 1981. Zucchero has performed in front of millions the world over. The sensitivity in his lyrics and emotion in his music is international it has no boundaries.
His 1987 album, Blue’s, with Corrado Rustici, David Sancious, and Clarence Clemons with the Memphis Horns, sold in excess of 1.3 million copies, the highest total ever achieved by a rock album in Italy. Since then, Zucchero has gone on to sell over fifty million albums worldwide.
In Havana, during the summer of 2012, Zucchero recorded La sesión cubana, an album that features collaborations with some of Cuba’s most prominent musicians. The album was produced by Zucchero and Don Was, and mixed by Michael Brauer.
Zucchero describes his latest album in his own words: “My music, as everybody knows, comes from blues, from soul, from gospel. This project is a trip from New Orleans to Cuba via Mexicali. Latin, Cuban, tex-mex sounds and rhythms melt together dancing. “Hasta l’asta siempre”.
His duets are legendary… from Eric Clapton’s unmistakable guitar on Wonderful World, to the international hit Senza Una Donna (Without a Woman) with Paul Young… from the Italian version of Mad About You, (Muoio per te) on Sting’s The Soul Cages album to Miserere with The Maestro, Luciano Pavarotti.
Zucchero is as generous with his time as he is with his talent. With Luciano Pavarotti, he created the annual Pavarotti & Friends Charity Gala, and he continues to support Nelson Mandela’s 46664 campaign with concerts throughout the world.
Zucchero went to Da Santino after his Ottawa concert for something to eat before leaving for North Bay for a concert the next day. Zucchero, and his associate Laura ate Grilled shrimp, fried smelts, Calamari, arancini and took a family size Margharita pizza to go for the crew to enjoy on the bus. Zucchero drank pinot Grigio with dinner and finished with coffee and a grappa. Tony Zacconi and his friends had a lot of good laughs with Zucchero during his visit at Da Santino. Tony Zacconi says “Zucchero is super guy who is down to earth and a very interesting person to talk to”. They spoke a lot about traditional Tuscan cuisine, as Zucchero lives in the region on a what is basically a farm. Zucchero told Tony that he grows his own fruits, vegetables, raises his own livestock etc. They also spoke of his experiences travelling abroad!
By Giovanni