One tenor, one accordionist, hours of memorable music!
Specializing in French chanson, Italian and Neapolitan canzone, Two Little Gypsy Kisses works its charm and whisks you away to magical, far away places like the old dance halls of Paris or the music salons of Italy and Old Europe. This duo promises to transport you with their authentic, enchanting renditions of enduring European salon and cafe music dating back to the 1850s through the 1960’s Pop-Italian and Pop-French songs. Whether it's Verdi, de Curtis, Bixio, Mudogno, Piaf, Brel, Aznavour or Trenet, you will fall in love with these timeless, sentimental, and artful arrangements true to the composers' intent. Due Zighi Baci adds its unique style and panache to every song. www.eurocafemusic.com
Tenor Michael Van Why holds a B.A. in music from SSU where he studied Vocal Performance. He specializes in 20th century French chanson, Italian/Neapolitan canzone and German art song. He is frequently featured in leading musical theater roles in the bay area, but his true love is solo concert work. Michael has most recently been nominated for 2011 Sonoma County Artist Awards for Performing, Music and Literary Arts and is currently working on a recording of the American song book. He is the founder and executive director of Project Applause, a non-profit organization based in Sonoma County that provides vocal opportunities for emerging, classically trained singers to be help them gain experience. www.projectapplause.com
Sheri Mignano Crawford, learned to play accordion in "Goosetown" the Italian ghetto in San Jose. She went on to earn various college degrees, teaching humanities at the college level. Upon retirement, she published “Mandolins, Like Salami, ”a social history of 20th century Italian American mandolinists, and arranges dance music in the ballo liscio style. Her mandolin ensemble can be heard Saturday mornings at Caffè Trieste, North Beach. Her dance band Zighi Baci has appeared on the Cotati stage in 2005 and 2006. She’s currently at work on a social history of accordionists in the bay area. www.zighibaci.com Due Zighi Baci* is honored to be scheduled on Saturday morning to kick off the 20th anniversary festival in Cotati. We hope you’ll be a part of the fun as well!
*Due Zighi Baci, pronounced DEW-a ZIG-gee BOTCH-ee, is Italian dialect and means Two Little Gypsy Kisses. zighi@sonic.net