The 26-year-old multi-instrumentalist will be on stage Thursday 2 December at the Zoe Club in Milan. Tickets, costing 18 euros, will be available at the Zoe Club box office from 7 p.m. onwards.
A native of Ohio and resident of Atlanta, Van Hunt hit the headlines with his self-titled debut album, in which early Prince-esque black sounds combine with graceful blues phrasing as few have managed to do in the last decade. Already hailed by Alicia Keys as 'one of the most incredible musicians I know', Van Hunt is a composer, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and singer who has eagerly nourished himself on the many languages of black music, demonstrating a distinct love for the musical universe of the 1970s, and has created an album with an exquisitely pop sound and rich textures of soul, funk and rhythm'n'blues, which draws on tradition but is extremely modern.
There are many excellent guest appearances on the album: from guitarist Wendy Melvoin (Prince & The Revolution) to drummer Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos), from percussionist Lenny Castro (Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones) to keyboardist Patrick Warren (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Macy Gray), to trumpeter Nolan Smith (Marvin Gaye) and the arranger of the string scores (in 'What Can I Say' and 'Precious'), David Campbell, Beck's father. The appearances also refer to the background from which the Dayton (Ohio)-based artist, now living in Atlanta, claims to be inspired: first and foremost Prince, whose discovery directed him, while still an adolescent, towards that composite musical universe and that specific sound; but also Muddy Waters, James Brown, Ray Charles and Duke Ellington.
Troubled relationships, unhappy childhood memories, regrets for what has been lost, and a very personal, blue-tinged outlook on life are the topics that appear most often in Hunt's songs, which he treats to create evocative, universal scenarios in which pain is never treated with complacency, but always leaves room for a way out, to compose what he himself defines as 'situation music'. Already considered, in his homeland, one of the leading producers and composers of the contemporary soul era, Hunt not only sings but also produces on saxophone, bass, drums, keyboards and guitar, demonstrating a real musical expertise that is uncommon, even in the crowded world black scene.
VAN HUNT
THURSDAY 2 DECEMBER 2004
ZOE CLUB (Baggio area) - MILAN
Entrance single seat: 18 euro
FOR INFORMATION : 02.76113055
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