Preceded by the single “Sapore di sale,” Gino Paoli and Funk Off ‘s new album “Groovin’ With Paoli” sees the singer-songwriter perform some of his most famous songs in the original arrangement of Funk Off, Italy’s premier funky marchin’ band with more than 20 years of activity and more than 700 concerts to its credit. The album Gino Paoli and Funk Off is the singer-songwriter’s fourth record for the Fondazione Musica per Roma label. The precedents are “A meeting in jazz.” (2011) “Two like us who…” (2012) “Naples with Love” (2013) and “3” (2017) in which he tackled the American songbook, the Neapolitan songbook, and the chanson française repertoire in addition to his own repertoire.

Paoli ‘s collaboration with Funk Off began in the summer of 2017, when they met in Vicchio di Mugello, Funk Off‘s home town, at the Etnica festival where Paoli was performing with pianist Danilo Rea. In summer 2018 Paoli wanted to play at Umbria Jazz the first two songs arranged by Funk Off for him, “Taste of Salt” and “The Cat.” Since then, Funk Off has worked on other tracks: “Sassi,” “Che cosa sei,” “Il cielo in una stanza,” and “Senza fine.” Other original pieces written during that same period,were added. These include a tribute to Sonny Rollins, “Foxy,” which takes up the famous standard “Doxy.”

The others are “The Hidden Corner” and “Hyperreality.” “The secret of these songs,” says group leader Dario Cecchini, “was for the music to remain Gino Paoli ‘s but still sound Funk Off. Essential was to maintain the structure of the songs in full respect of the storytelling and poetry that flow from them by adding that funky, jazzy groove that has always characterized us.” A video made by Stefano Salvati was taken from the single “Taste of Salt.”