“Italian soundtracks from the late 60s to mid 70s are practically a genre to themselves and have long been a treasure trove for those who seek unique jazzy psychedelic beats. The Psych Jazzy Beat of I Marc 4, features the music of one of the top recording quartets of Italian soundtracks, I Marc 4. The members of this quartet all came from a jazz background and originally grouped together in the mid-60s with the purpose of supporting various high profile vocalists. The backing band to the most admired composers of the ’70s, from Ennio Morricone to Piero Umiliani, I Marc 4 had a unique “Italian soundtrack” style. I Marc 4 recorded several albums on their Nelson label between 1970 and 1976, featuring Antonello Vannucchi‘s incredible use of his Hammond C3, Roberto Podio‘s kicking rhythm section, and the legendary Maurizio Maiorana on bass, not to forget the real soul of the band, their guitar player, Carlo Pes. In the late 60s they moved on to being soundtrack composers whose instrumental works would then be collected and released on LPs. Psychedelic rock, soul jazz, brassy Herb Alpert style numbers, spacey exotic lounge music, goofy country funk, proto-progressive rock are the easily recognizable genres coexisting in this retrospective of one of the most hidden treasures of the Italian psych-jazz scene.”
SURFADELIC 