Patrizio and Stefano Fariselli’s concert

The acoustic tour of Patrizio & Stefano Fariselli is part of the celebration events of the 50th ARBEIT MACHT FREI, which saw him, from the very beginning, build the complex machinery of AREA and be the composer of all their music.

The Area, International Popular Group, founded by Demetrio Stratos, Giulio Capiozzo, Eddy Busnello, Patrizio Fariselli, Paolo Tofani and Patrick Djivas, created and played these complex and evocative pieces from 1972 until early 1974. Subsequently, with the departure of Busnello and Djivas from the group and the entrance of Ares Tavolazzi, they dedicated themselves to the new material of ‘Caution Radiation Area’ abandoning the previous repertoire and partly the early “sound”.

Until today, among the tracks of ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’, only ‘Luglio, agosto, settembre (nero)’ has continued to be performed live by Area Open Project, as well as being covered and rearranged by many other musicians. No one, for over 40 years, has had the opportunity to listen in concert to the other tracks of the album such as ‘Consapevolezza’, ‘240 Km da Smirne’, ‘Le labbra del tempo’, ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ and ‘L’abbattimento dello Zeppelin’.

Together with the group, still active as Area Open Project, Patrizio Fariselli has devoted himself to music for cinema, including animation, theater, continuing his musical research, starting from ancient music to contemporary music with the use of electronics, in addition to a refined study of the piano.

The improvisation part has always been a characteristic element of the composer.
In his solo repertoire, therefore, you can listen to the great hits of AREA reworked with variations for solo piano, some unpublished pieces written over the years, and some experiments of radical improvisation.

Patrizio Fariselli, piano and synth

Stefano Fariselli, tenor and soprano sax, flute, bass clarinet and EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument)

Patrizio and Stefano Fariselli were born in a family of musicians. Their grandfather Adamo Fariselli was a clarinetist; their father Terzo Fariselli was a composer, trombonist, and double bass player, from 1952 to 1959 a member of Henghel Gualdi’s orchestra and from 1960 the leader of the Fariselli Orchestra; their uncle Armando Fariselli was a talented violinist and their sister Loretta Fariselli was a dancer of rare talent.

Both brothers studied at the conservatory in Pesaro, Patrizio studied piano and Stefano studied flute.

In 1972, at twenty-one, the eldest son Patrizio was among the founders of Area, one of the most important groups in the Italian music scene. He was the only member to be present in all the band’s works. With Area, he performed for about a decade in countless concerts in Italy and, due to the group’s political commitment, only occasionally abroad: in France, Portugal, and in 1978 in Cuba, at the World Festival of Youth.

Nearly seven years younger, Stefano approached jazz at a young age. At 26, he went to New York where he participated in various jam sessions, met and studied with George Coleman and Pharoah Sanders. At 27, he moved to Milan, where he worked as a session musician in recording studios, played in Milanese jazz clubs, and collaborated with some musicians, including Walter Calloni, Stefano Cerri, Paolo Ghetti, and Massimo Manzi. In the same period, he formed two quartets “Four for Fusion” and “Quadricheco”. In 1991, together with G. Mattei, C. Fabbri, and F. Petretti, he participated in the creation of the saxophone quartet Ti Sha Nah Man, first place winner at the “Barga Jazz”, “Summertime in Jazz” in Prato and “Music Inn” in Rome competitions.

In addition to his teaching and concert activities, since 1995 Stefano has created the multimedia method Metodo in Musica collaborating with saxophone, clarinet, and flute teachers from the major Italian, German, and Spanish conservatories.

Since the 1990s, in addition to his concert activity, Patrizio has dedicated himself to music for cinema, theater, dance, and television, composing soundtracks for numerous films and shows and releasing about ten albums under his own name. In 2016, he formed the group Area Open Project with which in 2019 he also held an important concert in Tokyo, later published in Italy and Japan under the title Live in Japan.

Over the years, the two brothers have played together many times in the jazz field or with the Area Open Project, but the duo project is an absolute novelty.

In 2024, they propose two types of shows:

Acoustic concert

Piano, soprano sax, and flute

Intimate and crystalline sounds allow the brothers to delve deeply into the compositions and express their improvisational skills.

Electroacoustic concert

Piano, synthesizers, soprano sax, flute, EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), and bass clarinet.

Using both acoustic and electronic sounds, Patrizio and Stefano Fariselli will propose original compositions, pieces from the Area repertoire, and revisit some tracks from authors they hold dear, such as Joseph Zawinul, Frank Zappa, Wayne Shorter.