Citta Frontale

The name Citta Frontale brings to mind two groups from Naples from two different periods in the history of Italian prog. The first one was founded in the beginning of the seventies and featured keyboard player Gianni Leone, along with four more musicians. (With the addition of Elio D'Anna, this group would later on become known as Osanna.)

After a brief period of live work, the group broke up without having made recordings of any kind. In 1974, following Osanna's break up, Vairetti and Guarino brought together some new names from the ever-fertile rock scene of Naples, to reform a new Citta Frontale group. Among these musicians, there was also ex-Saint Just member Gianni Guarracino. Their sole album was released by Fonit in 1975, and titled, "El Tor". Musically, it contained two sides which were completely different: on the first one, the group is influenced by funk and jazz with strong horn parts, while the second one is more acoustic and mellow, done in "Californian" style. The lyrics underline their strong social and

political involvement. After "El Tor", this group disbanded, since Vairetti and Guarino went on to reform Osanna. Guarracino, Zurzolo and Avitabile became well-in-demand sessionmen. In the last few years, Enzo Avitabile has been quite successful as a solo artist.

LP: "El Tor" (1975), Fonit - LPX 45

Enzo Avitabile: Flute, Sax
Massimo Guarino: Drums, Percussion
Gianni Guarracino: Guitar
Paolo Raffone: Keyboards
Lino Vairetti: Vocals, Guitar
Lino Zurzolo: Bass