Draft:Marco Taggiasco

= Marco Taggiasco =

Marco Taggiasco (born July 28, 1961) is an Italian producer, arranger, composer, songwriter and recording artist. He's mostly known for his solo recordings and collaborations with artists such as David Pack, Bill Champlin, Joe Pizzulo, Jeff Pescetto, Eric Tagg, Robbie Dupree, Anne Marie Bush and others.



The Early Years
Marco Taggiasco began to play organ at the age 16, self-teaching harmony and orchestration, starting to gig around Rome and performing at local music festivals and contests in the late 70s and early 80s. In 1982 he formed his first fusion band featuring sessions players from the jazz scene (Aldo Bassi, Marco Siniscalco, Andrea Pighi, Massimo Carrano were among the band members) and together with his brother he wrote most of the material. The band, named Fulltime Dance, has been active until 1987. During the 90s Marco Taggiasco focused his activity on studio work, producing and arranging for singers, and writing music for theater shows.

2000/2010
In a 40+ year career, Marco Taggiasco has been arranging for a wide range of singers and songwriters, including Max Meazza, Don Backy, Max Nardari. He has also written music for theater acts, mostly working for Teatro dei Contrari. In spite of his work as arranger, his name is primarily known for his solo recordings released through Japanese labels Vivid Sound Corp. and P-Vine Records and distributed worldwide through the major Digital Distribution platforms.

In 2004 he released his first solo album, Thousand Things, featuring Andrea Sanchini on vocals. The album, released as an independent production, soon gained attention from the Japanese market, earning reviews and a distribution deal with Japanese distributor Disk Union in Japan.

His second album, titled This Moment, features Grammy awarded singer, songwriter and producer David Pack (former lead singer and co-founder of Ambrosia), Danish singer and songwriter Anne Marie Bush and Eric Tagg.

In 2009, along with Grammy nominee singer-songwriter Robbie Dupree, he wrote and produced the single Got To Believe (This Time), released the same year.

2011/2023
Things and Moments LIVE, released in 2011, is an enhanced CD with 15 tracks and 4 videos. It features songs from his previous recordings plus some new tracks. The album is produced by his longtime collaborator and drummer Riziero Bixio.

His live concert, held in 2014 at Teatro Greco in Rome, named Marco Taggiasco & Friends - Live at Teatro Greco featured the Gospel Choir Phonema Gospel Singers and Tollak Ollestad on vocals and harmonica. The event was filmed but never released as DVD, though some clips can be found on the net.

In 2016 he released the AOR/Pop album Wasted Paradise under the band name of Mr. Rubik. The record holds unreleased songs with a clear 80s vibe, featuring harmonica player Tollak Ollestad and a track co-written with Mr. Mister lyricist John Lang. Album reviews on Truemetal and Melodicrock.it (in Italian).

His latest record to date, Togetherness, has been released in 2020 and features Grammy awarded artist Bill Champlin (former Chicago member), Tamara Champlin, Joe Pizzulo, Jeff Pescetto, Anne Marie Bush and emerging vocal talent Damiano Libianchi among the others. It involves an orchestral combo with Strings, French Horn and Clarinet, arranged and conducted by Taggiasco himself.

His records have been extensively reviewed on Italian music magazines such as Jam and Viva Verdi, as well as online music magazines like West Coast Rendez-Vous, Blue Desert, Melodicrock.it to name a few.

Albums

 * Thousand Things (2004, MrT Records 0104)
 * This Moment (2008, Vivid Sound Corp, VSCD-3371)
 * Things and Moments LIVE (2011, MrT Records)
 * Togetherness (2020, P-Vine Records, PCD-24946)

Singles

 * Got To Believe (This Time) - with Robbie Dupree (2009, MrT Records)
 * Merry Christmas Darling (2013, MrT Records)

With Mr. Rubik

 * Wasted Paradise (2016, MrT Records)