All I knew about Grand Fatilla before I saw them perform at Regattabar was that the same bass player who is in one of my favorite bands (Club d’Elf) was in the band, and that was enough for me to want to see Grand Fatilla perform.

Fabio Pirozzolo

I was not at all surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed this show; excellent musicians and interesting music are a great combination!

The band this night consisted of Fabio Pirozzolo on percussion and vocals, Mike Rivard on bass and sintir, Roberto Cassan on accordion, and Jussi Reijonen on guitars and oud. Truly an international band, Pirozzollo and Cassan hail from Italy, Rivard from the United States, and Reijonen from Finland. Apparently Reijonen does not always perform with them.

Fabio Pirozzolo

Mike Rivard (on sintir)

Roberto Cassan

Jussi Reijonen

The seemingly free-form set included a tarantella, a cumbia, a tango, and many other numbers taken from various parts of the world. Each member of the band had featured solos numerous times throughout the show.

Fabio Pirozzolo

There were times that Reijonen’s guitar playing had a gypsy jazz rhythm to it; I love that sound and think he is a terrific guitarist!

Jussi Reijonen

In addition to the various hand percussion instruments played by Pirozzolo, there were two unusual instruments played during this show. One was the sintir played by Rivard; it is a Moroccan three-stringed lute that I have seen him play many times with Club d’Elf. The other was the oud,  an instrument played in many Mediterranean cultures, which has similar roots to the lute.

Mike Rivard on sintir

Jussi Reijonen on oud

If this review is lacking the enthusiasm I felt for this band, it is because I was unfortunately under the weather for this show. Please read between the lines and realize I loved the band, and intend to see them again.

Fabio Pirozzolo

Mike Rivard

Jussi Reijonen

Roberto Cassan

Mike Rivard

Thanks to Regattabar for this ticket; all opinions are my own,