On June 21st, the VINCE TEMPERA trio performed at Blue Note in Milan, as part of the Off series.
On stage as narrator and pianist, the maestro paid homage to Italian music and cinema, with the accompaniment of Sergio Bellotti on drums and Enrico Santarelli on bass.
It was a privilege to be there and to be able to listen to and photograph an iconic Italian who has crossed and been part of the lives of millions of Italians, even if with different connotations.
For some, Tempera is linked to the surge in popularity of Japanese cartoons, which for the first time were broadcast on television and quickly became a generational staple.
Walt Disney cartoons were read or watched only at the cinema or at Christmas on TV, "Fantasia" was the most popular, but that was it.
When Japanese anime started to broadcast on both public and private television, it quickly became something not to be missed by millions of adults and kids alike.
And the same level of popularity was reached by the songs and the artists that interpreted it.
All of this at a time in which there was no internet nor social media.
For others, the name Vince Tempera relates to the greatest and most important Italian yearly musical event, the Sanremo Festival. An event that has always been (and still is) awaited for throughout the year with lots of anticipation and has always kept millions of people glued to the TV. A festival in which the competing singers as well as the musical guests have a full live orchestra at their disposal, with most performances starting with the host announcing “The Orchestra is directed by Maestro Vince Tempera” which can now be considered like a tattoo for most Italians collective memory. 
Yet others know him as a musician or composer, who has accompanied and/or composed for many great Italian singers or songwriters. Rather than just movie lovers for its soundtracks. 
These are the reasons that do define Vince Tempera as a great Italian icon and a multifaceted and appreciated artist, who, needless to say, sold out at the Blue Note Off in Milan. 
Below you will find brief bios of the musicians. 
Enjoy reading it 

Gabriella Ruggieri for 1blog4u 

VINCE TEMPERA is an Italian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and conductor.

Born in Milano as Vincenzo Tempera, he graduated in piano and composition at the Conservatory, then he started his musical activity collaborating with several beat groups such as “I Giganti” and “La Nuova Era”. He was later a member of the avant-garde musical project “The Pleasure Machine” and of the progressive group “Il Volo”.

In late 1970s he achieved a large commercial success as a composer of cartoon's opening songs. 

 He has been the composer and performer of numerous successful songs of television anime and TV series, both as conductor, composer and author of the lyrics, including Goldrake, Ape Maia, Captain Harlock, Nils Holgersson, Daitan III, Hello Spank.

The greatest success was undoubtedly that of 1978 with the song Ufo Robot, written together with Luigi Albertelli and Ares Tavolazzi, for which he even obtained the Gold Record, exceeding one million copies sold. 

The records of the singles were released under different pseudonyms, often inspired by the title of the anime of which Tempera wrote and played the music and lyrics.

He was conductor in many editions of the “Sanremo Music Festival” and in one edition of the “Eurovision Song Contest” (for Malta in 1975). 

He contributed several film scores including the Lucio Fulci films “Four of the Apocalypse” (1975), “Dracul in the Provinces” (1975), “Sette note in nero” (1977), “Silver Saddle” (1978), “Manaos” (1979), “The House of Clocks” (1989) and “The Sweet House of Horrors” (1989). 

The main theme from “Sette note in nero” was later included in the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Volume 1”.

His collaborations include, among others, Zucchero Fornaciari, Lucio Battisti, Francesco Guccini, Antonello Venditti, Mina, i Nomadi, Angelo Branduardi just to name a few.

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