Paolo Rustichelli

Career

Paolo Rustichelli was an early adopter of monophonic synthesizers like the ARP 2600 and Minimoog, as well as the Hammond Novachord, Hammond C3 organ, and Mellotron. He wrote and produced film scores and a progressive rock album called Opera Prima, released on RCA in 1973. His fully synthesized soundtracks include the European box office hits Amici Miei atto III and Testa o Croce. In 1996, his jazz-rock album Mystic Man featured Miles Davis, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Andy Summers, and Jill Jones, with the track "Paisa" reaching the Top Ten on the Radio & Records Smooth Jazz/NAC charts.

The song "Full Moon," from Mystic Jazz, was written for Carlos Santana. Tenor Plácido Domingo performed Rustichelli's "Kyrie" on his 2002 album Sacred Songs. "My Geisha," from the album Neopagan, also hit the Top Ten on the Radio & Records Smooth Jazz/NAC charts in 2006 and 2007. "Med Groove," from Soul Italiano, reached number one on the smoothjazz.com chart and was an Amazon.com Smooth Jazz bestseller at number one for several weeks in early 2014.

The 2019 single "Hypnofunk" blends psychedelic-era sounds with hip hop rhythms. Rustichelli is currently working on the album Tempus Fugit, due out in March 2020.