Regular readers of barganews will have heard his name mentioned in many articles and a few of you might even have been luckily enough to actually see and heard Silvano Togneri in action during some of the summer festivals in Barga in the recent past. Silvano left this world in 2006 (article here) but his memory is still very strong in this area. One mention of his name and people smile and recount their own “Silvano story”
The annual Silvano Togneri prize awarded each year at the Barga Jazz Festival is one of the most coveted prizes which each year is fiercely fought over by the jazz musicians from right across Tuscany and beyond (article here)
As regular readers are aware, Sunday nights in Aristo’s is when the musicians of the area habitually turn up for their weekly jam session. Most of the Emma and Aristodemos band where already there making music along with the veteran rocker Geoff from the Grizzlies when in walked a newcomer to the jam session -- Walter Togneri, the younger brother of Silvano.
Not just for his features which so closely resemble that of his brother but also for his singing and drumming style, it was for many people in the bar a very emotional moment as just for a few minutes it seemed like Silvano was once more amongst us.
Judge for yourselves with the following audio and video clip.
Walter Togneri -- playing in Aristos in Barga Vecchia in 2012
Silvano Togneri -- outsider musician playing in Aristos in Barga Vecchia in 2006
Question: What is Outsider Music ?
Outsider music is music performed either by social outsiders, who have no or few associates in the mainstream music business, or by musicians who choose to live and work in seclusion, often due to compromising behavioral or psychological conditions. Outsider music reflects these conditions in various ways. Lyrics are often bizarre or emotionally stark and songs may show a great ignorance or disregard for structural conventions or popular trends in mainstream music. Also, outsider musicians frequently have no formal training and/or significant music skills in the traditional sense. The end result is music that is much stranger and more abrasive than more popular musical styles. Outsider music is a form of outsider art. – source – Wikipedia