”Calling himself an “enchanter,” Mr. Capossela, one of the cleverest and most eccentric musicians in Italy, spins enigmatic fantasies of both skid row Americana and mythological Italy in a grittily elegant cabaret-jazz style that recalls Tom Waits and Paolo Conte”. The New York Times

“Like a mystical cross between Tom Waits and John Cleese, Capossela limns a wry, topsy-turvy musical universe...he is known for captivating theatrical performances”. The New Yorker

“Italy’s most intriguing musical traveller”. Mojo

ITALIAN MUSICAL ENCHANTER VINICIO CAPOSSELA RETURNS TO NORTH AMERICA Theatrical Underground Visionary Announces March Tour Dates Debut Album Release on Nonesuch Records for Chart-topping Songwriter

Italy’s award-winning avant singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela brings his renown musical side show to North America for a coast to coast string of concert offerings in March 2010. First pitching their tent at New York City’s (Le) Poisson Rouge on March 5 and 6, the Capossela musical circus then heads north to Canada to Montreal and Toronto on March 8 and 9, before going west for three back-to-back debuts in Chicago (March 10), San Francisco (March 12), and finally wrapping at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theater on March 13. No stranger to North American audiences, “theatrical underground visionary” Capossela’s 2007 debut concert dates in the US and Canada were completely sold-out and his showcase performances at the 2008 editions of GlobalFEST in New York City and SXSW in Austin, Texas were met with critical acclaim.

Capossela’s 10th and most recent studio set “Da Solo” (Alone) is a continued evolution in the artist’s exploration of the relationship between his native Italy and America. Recorded in both countries with legendary producer JD Foster, the album features a stirring collaboration between Capossela and NYC-based organ maverick Cameron Carpenter, (performing on a vintage 1923 Might Wurlitzer installed in the historic Middletown Paramount Theater in upstate New York), and a duet with Arizona roots-rockers Calexico tracked at their Tuscon home base. Da Solo was certified Platinum in Italy where Capossela has been touring non-stop since its November 2008 release, including a special pair of summer 2009 double bill shows with Calexico. A “road” documentary “La Faccia Della Terra” (The Face of the Land) which follows Capossela during the making of Da Solo in Milan, Brooklyn, Austin and Tuscon has been screened on Italy’s film festival circuit.

From January 2010, noted label Nonesuch Records will offer a deeper look into Capossela’s 20 year recording career releasing a 17 track CD and digital compendium entitled The Story-Faced Man, marking the iconic Italian artist’s debut available to English-speaking audiences.

Vinicio Capossela Backgrounder:

Multiple Tenco Prize (Italy’s equivalent to the UK’s Mercury Prize) winner Vinicio Capossela is at the forefront of a new generation of singer-songwriters re-inventing Italian song. The work of this musical auteur pays homage to the influences of both Paolo Conte and Tom Waits. But Capossela’s own magic lies in his ability to break the boundaries of a song and to evoke, though the use of images, entire worlds inhabited by demons, shadows, lost souls and losers. Lyrics play a crucial role while the music — free from any genre restraints — is at the complete disposal of the musical world Capossela conjures up.

In his early pieces, Capossela’s music was informed by the American underground culture and road myth embodied by Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski and by the “Italo-American” identity of the work of Martin Scorsese. His songwriting continues to explore the many facets of the Italian cultural diaspora from the Argentine tango of Astor Piazzolla to the American swing of Louis Prima. A dramatic and bewitching ‘circus artist’, Capossela is known for his theatrical live performances.

Capossela has collaborated with artists as diverse as Macedonia’s Kocani Orkestar, American jazz crooner Jimmy Scott and New York City guitarist Marc Ribot. He is also an award-winning novelist in Italy whose work “Non si muore tutte le mattine” (You Don’t Die Every Morning) has been adapted for radio broadcast and for the stage.