Maurizio—Man of a Thousand Voices
By Chris Manson June 5, 2003 Issue

I wandered onto the deck behind Caffé Italia last Thursday night around 7:45, and the handsome, wild-eyed Italian Maestro Maurizio Danesi was carrying the notes of O Sole Mio to lung-destroying lengths. He was playing keyboards, accompanied by a string section I couldn’t see.

Danesi has visited here for the past decade, a fact made apparent by his inclusion of the tried-and-true Margaritaville in the first set. He spotted me sitting over on the boardwalk and asked me if I wanted to sing with him. Before I could gather up my camera, notebook and courage, Danesi went into a dramatic interpretation of the Frank Sinatra/Elvis Presley/Jay-Z standard My Way.

The multi-instrumentalist and longtime friend of Caffé Italia owners Jim and Nada Eckhardt appears Wednesdays and Thursdays beginning at 7 p.m. and Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights starting at 8 p.m. While Danesi the singer demonstrates a strong command of English, he indicated that his conversational abilities were not quite up to a lengthy interview. He was, however, kind enough to share his bottle of Czechvar with me while Nada provided some background.

Danesi comes from Montichiari, a little village 30 miles from Verona. Nada met him when he was 18, “playing at a NATO base for GIs. I’ve known him for 20 years. We’re like brother and sister,” she said.

“Maurizio comes here every spring and fall,” Nada said. “The first night he played here, everyone really liked him a lot. He’s playing five nights a week now, because so many people want to come see him. People plan their vacations for when he comes here. They plan parties and weddings. We have a friend who owns a restaurant in Jackson, Tenn., and Maurizio plays there, too.”

There are at least nine CDs of Maurizio’s music for sale, containing everything from Frank Sinatra pop tunes, traditional Italian songs and opera. “He has so much talent, it’s unbelievable. Every song gives you goose bumps, whether it’s Kenny G or Sinatra. He brings so much new music that every night is different. He knows about 2,000 songs,” Nada said.

Danesi began his next set with a stunning soprano sax instrumental of The Star Spangled Banner, loaded with cool trilling and screeching high notes. The patrons were on their feet and not just out of respect for the national anthem. Next, the fantastic horn player made his way through the crowd while blowing Kenny G’s Songbird.

He returned to the keyboards for Theme From “New York, New York,” bringing a range of emotions to every syllable. Danesi sang Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable twice—for the reprise he was joined by the lovely and talented Dalena, another favorite of the Caffé Italia crowd. The maestro sang a bouncy, fun version of Don’t Be Cruel, and then introduced a song by “another great singer from the United States, Louis Armstrong, the great Satchmo!” Danesi offered a blatant—and hugely successful—imitation of Armstrong’s vocal style with What a Wonderful World.

Several couples got up to dance during I Left My Heart in San Francisco. Then Dalena came back for a vivacious salsa workout. Danesi crooned a couple of Dean Martin hits—Volare and That’s Amore—before the evening’s highlight, a star-studded To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before. He dedicated the song to “the girls I’ve loved in Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Jackson, Tennessee, New York…” Not only did Danesi nail the Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson parts, but he tossed out some first-rate Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, too.

The Lady Is a Tramp revealed yet another layer to Danesi’s performance skills, with some excellent scat singing. The man is funny as hell, too, especially when he employs a heavily twanged voice for Hank Williams, Jr.’s Family Tradition. (“Why do you drink?,” etc.) The solid entertainer wrapped up the set with some seemingly effortless opera singing, followed by a greatly appreciated God Bless America.

Of course, tomorrow night’s show might be completely different, according to Nada. She indicated that the previous evening, a couple of old friends from Italy dropped by and Danesi’s set leaned heavily toward Italian songs. “Everyone else was asking, ‘What is that song?!’” Nada laughed. Maurizio Danesi will be appearing at Caffe Italia through July 6. (Top)

Back to Musician Profiles