Maxophone
Encyclopedia
Maxophone are an Italian
Progressive rock
band formed in Milan
in 1973. They released one self-titled album in 1975. The group was one of the few rock artists signed by the Produttori Associati record label, which focused mostly on film soundtracks and Jazz. Maxophone have since acquired a minor cult following that has endured for over three decades, long after their short career had ended.
Among fans of the Italian progressive rock
genre Maxophone is today widely regarded as one of the top groups, along with PFM
, Le Orme
, and Banco
. The group and their record label thought they had tremendous potential for success. They were one of only a handful of such groups to have the opportunity to record an English language
version of their album.
The music of Maxophone has features typical of the best Symphonic rock
, including a very high level of musical skill, shifting time signatures, and highly complex arrangements inspired by both Classical and Jazz. Half the members were classically trained, the rest had years of experience in other rock bands. Their music has a wide variety of textures, often in the same song. Horns and flute are equally balanced with piano, organs, synthesizers, and electric and acoustic guitars. They also include choral arrangements and instruments rarely heard in rock, such as clarinet
, vibraphone
and even harp
.
The first version was an Italian language
album, released in Italy. Produttori Associati also released an English language
version of the album in Germany and on their Pausa Records
division in the U.S.A. and Canada. The English version has the songs in a different order and they have been re-mixed, revealing some different musical details. The band hoped the English version would open themselves up to a wider audience, but this was not the case. However they were invited to perform at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival
in 1976.
The group followed up the album with a somewhat more pop-oriented single in 1977, sung in Italian only, titled "Il Fischio del Vapore" (Steam Whistle) b/w "Cono di Gelato" (Ice Cream Cone.) The 2 single tracks have since been added to some versions of the CD re-issues of the album. Maxophone disbanded soon after the single release, and despite the album becoming an artistic and critical success, they did not reform for many years.
studio in Turin
along with 10 additional studio recordings made between 1973 and 1975 and band interviews.
After a period of reflection a new version of Maxophone re-formed at the beginning of 2008 containing two of the original members.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band formed in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in 1973. They released one self-titled album in 1975. The group was one of the few rock artists signed by the Produttori Associati record label, which focused mostly on film soundtracks and Jazz. Maxophone have since acquired a minor cult following that has endured for over three decades, long after their short career had ended.
Among fans of the Italian progressive rock
Italian progressive rock
The Italian progressive rock scene was born in the early 70s, mostly inspired by the progressive movement in Britain, but with certain features of its own that makes some sources mention it as a separate musical genre....
genre Maxophone is today widely regarded as one of the top groups, along with PFM
Premiata Forneria Marconi
Premiata Forneria Marconi is an Italian progressive rock band. They were the first Italian group to have success abroad, entering both the British and American charts. Between 1973 and 1977 they released five albums with English lyrics...
, Le Orme
Le Orme
Le Orme is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, a frazione of Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s...
, and Banco
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso is an Italian rock band. A popular progressive rock band in the 1970s, they continued making music in the 1980s and 1990s...
. The group and their record label thought they had tremendous potential for success. They were one of only a handful of such groups to have the opportunity to record an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of their album.
The music of Maxophone has features typical of the best Symphonic rock
Symphonic rock
Symphonic rock is a sub-genre of progressive rock. Since early in progressive rock's history, the term has been used sometimes to distinguish more classically influenced progressive rock from the more psychedelic and experimental forms of progressive rock....
, including a very high level of musical skill, shifting time signatures, and highly complex arrangements inspired by both Classical and Jazz. Half the members were classically trained, the rest had years of experience in other rock bands. Their music has a wide variety of textures, often in the same song. Horns and flute are equally balanced with piano, organs, synthesizers, and electric and acoustic guitars. They also include choral arrangements and instruments rarely heard in rock, such as clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
and even harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
.
The first version was an Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
album, released in Italy. Produttori Associati also released an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of the album in Germany and on their Pausa Records
Pausa Records
Pausa Records was a jazz record label, active circa 1975-1986. The name was derived from the fact that it was the U.S.A. division of the Italian record company Produttori Associati In Italy Produttori Associati was also known for soundtrack albums of music from Italian films.Many of its releases...
division in the U.S.A. and Canada. The English version has the songs in a different order and they have been re-mixed, revealing some different musical details. The band hoped the English version would open themselves up to a wider audience, but this was not the case. However they were invited to perform at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
in 1976.
The group followed up the album with a somewhat more pop-oriented single in 1977, sung in Italian only, titled "Il Fischio del Vapore" (Steam Whistle) b/w "Cono di Gelato" (Ice Cream Cone.) The 2 single tracks have since been added to some versions of the CD re-issues of the album. Maxophone disbanded soon after the single release, and despite the album becoming an artistic and critical success, they did not reform for many years.
Rediscovery
In the early 1990s Maxophone's music was re-discovered by the Progressive rock audience when both versions of the album were re-issued on CD by Mellow Records. In 2001 Akarma Records also released the Italian album on vinyl. In 2006 a DVD/CD From Cocoon to Butterfly was produced. It contains rare video of the group performing at the RAIRAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
studio in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
along with 10 additional studio recordings made between 1973 and 1975 and band interviews.
After a period of reflection a new version of Maxophone re-formed at the beginning of 2008 containing two of the original members.
Discography
- Maxophone (1975)
- Maxophone (English version) (1975)
- From Cocoon to Butterfly (CD + DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
) (2006)