Fausto
Papetti
(28 January 1923 – 15 June 1999) was an Italian alto saxophone player.
He is unarguably one of the greatest and most accomplished saxophonists
of all times. His works has been widely well-known all over the world
for the last six decades. He has played the majority of most
famous world hits and pop & jazz songs of 20th century, in 45 years of
his career.
He was
born at Viggiu in
Lombardy.
His
performance of the song "Love's Theme" (originally by Barry White's Love
Unlimited Orchestra) was featured on the breakbeat
compilation "Ultimate Breaks and Beats".
Papetti became well known for all the 1960s and 1970s, and all his new
albums reached the top of the hit parade; he was also present in
all the Latin American market. During the period of greatest
splendor, the 1970s, Papetti also produced two collections a year, the
best-selling being the 20th one, which came up first in 1975.
These records are also characterized for the sexy covers. He
became a real father of that musical kind, and in the 1970s many
imitators appeared, like Johnny Sax or Piergiorgio Farina.
He died in San Remo.
|
Fausto Papetti will always be an evergreen, if one could call an artist by such a name.
His success, which started many years ago in Italy, had gradually spread to many
countries. Strangely enough, Canada was the first country to adopt him,
followed by every country in South
America and France, where he was immediately called "l'extraordinaire Fausto".
For many years he was a big favorite in Japan, where each new record beat the
sales of the previous ones. He would undoubtedly had reached even more
spectacular levels of popularity in
those and other countries if his reluctance to flying did not make him refuse the
extraordinary offers he always received.
"The Romantic Man of the Sax", "Sax for Lovers"
and "Tenderly with Fausto" are some
of the names which these countries have given his records. The secret of
his success lied mostly in the fact that his music fits all different kinds of
moods: it is sweet and soft, it is sexy, it is not distracting, and many people
like to have it while working, studying or
on the road. His music is easy on the ear.
Among the many fan letters Fausto has been receiving during all those years, the
ones which cherished the most were from people of different ages who thank him
for having helped them in their love. One of those letters began in the
following charming way: "dearest wizard match-maker".
Who was Fausto Papetti? He was a nice, quite pleasant person whose whole
life was centered in his family and his music. He doted on his daughter Cinzia
and his boy Marco and always chose his summer tours in places where the
kids could have fun. A too lenient father, Fausto was very severe where his
music was concerned and admitted no compromises. His recording sessions
were
very absorbing and nerve-wrecking as he aimed at perfection (he was capable of
repeating a passage for several hours until he got the exact color and the
result he had in his mind). And this is perhaps one of the reasons for
which his records are so enjoyable. Fausto, who started his recording
career in 1959, had steadily gathered a number of gold records from all over the
world. He was offered his fifth gold record in 1982, from his recording company
in Italy, for his continued success.
|
