Bruno Martino (11 November 1925 – 12 June 2000) was an Italian composer, singer, and pianist. He is best remembered for his songs '' Dracula Cha Cha Cha'' (1959) and ''Estate'' (1960).

Career

Martino learned to play the piano at the age of fourteen. A

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

fan, he spent the early years of his career performing with European radio and night club orchestras. In the mid-1950s he was a member of the RAI orchestra. He later started composing music for popular Italian singers, eventually touring the world with his own orchestra. This resulted in a late-blossoming career as a singer. Internationally he is best known for his 1960 song ''Estate'', a standard that has been performed by many jazz musicians and singers since the early 1960s, including

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, Joe Diorio,

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, Michel Petrucciani,

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, Mike Stern, John Pizzarelli and

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. Another one of Martino's hit-songs, the humorous

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'' Dracula Cha Cha'' (later also called ''Dracula Cha Cha Cha'') was originally composed for Steno's horror-comedy film '' Tempi duri per i vampiri'' (1959) and released as a single the same year. It was later included in the album ''Italian Graffiti'' (1960/61) and performed onscreen in

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's film ''

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'' (1962). It inspired the title of Kim Newman's novel '' Dracula Cha Cha Cha'' (1998), which takes place in Rome in 1959. There were several recordings by other artists, including Bob Azzam,

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and

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. Martino himself released a follow-up song called ''Draculino (Vampiro un po' bambino)'' (1959).

Discography

*1959 - ''I grandi successi di Bruno Martino'' *1960 - ''Nuovi successi'' *1963 - ''Bruno Martino'' *1964 - ''Bruno Martino con orchestra'' *1965 - ''Dedicato a te'' *1969 - ''Sabato sera'' *1970 - ''The Best of Bruno Martino'' *1971 - ''Cos'hai trovato in lui'' *1972 - ''Ieri, oggi e sempre con Bruno Martino'' *1975 - ''I Love You'' *1977 - ''In the Night'' *1978 - ''Night Games'' *1980 - ''Il pianoforte e tu'' *1981 - ''Starai bene con me'' *1983 - ''Inconfutabilmente mia'' *1986 - ''Innamorarsi mai''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martino, Bruno 1925 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century male composers 20th-century Italian male musicians 20th-century Italian male singers 20th-century pianists Italian bandleaders Italian jazz pianists Italian jazz singers Italian male composers Italian pop musicians Italian male jazz musicians Italian male jazz pianists Cha-cha-cha musicians Italian comedy musicians