eMusic

Start Your Trial

Mario Biondi & the High Five Quintet

Mario Biondi & the High Five Quintet

Rate it!

(0 ratings)

  • Born: in Catania, Italy
  • Years Active: 2000s

Biography

Italian jazz-soul vocalist Mario Biondi was born of artistic stock in the Sicilian city of Catania. His great grandfather was a respected painter, his grandmother a singer, and his father a popular songwriter. Biondi sang throughout his childhood, first performing in public at age 12 in church, and soon singing in public squares before hundreds of people. From there he competed in the Festival della Canzone Siciliana, taking third place. Biondi's musical pursuits earned him the opportunity to perform alongside such Italian vocal greats as Califano, Bongusto, and Fiorello, as well as American legend Ray Charles. As word of his talent and skill got out, Biondi found himself collaborating with groups like the Change, Mario Brothers, and Funky Company on recordings and tours. Given his powerful and unique voice, it was not long before Biondi was encouraged to pursue a solo career. Featuring material inspired by American R&B artists like Lou Rawls, Luther Vandross, and Donny Hathaway, Biondi's debut record was released in 2006 on the boutique label Family Affair. Handful of Soul featured the single "This Is What You Are," which went immediately into heavy rotation throughout Italy and the U.K. A year later Biondi performed the song at the important Sanremo Festival in Italy, bolstering the record's popularity and helping to push it into Billboard's European Top 100 chart.
— Evan C. Gutierrez , All Music Guide

Related Artists Ancestors, Peers and Acolytes

Similar Artists:

Michael Buble, Andrea Bertolini, Franco Califano

Roots and Influences:

Peppino di Capri, Luther Vandross, Various Artists - Karaoke , Tom Jones, Lou Rawls

Formal Connections:

Change

The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.