Osanna

Italian prog rock band from Naples. Formed in 1971 by the members of I Volti Di Pietra and Città Frontale (first incarnation) whose keyboard player Gianni Leone had gone to Balletto Di Bronzo. Reeds player Elio D'Anna came from Showmen, the others didn't have significant experiences. The band immediately looked set for success when, in June 1971, it won the first prize at the Festival d’Avanguardia E Nuove Tendenze in Viareggio, along with Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) and Mia Martini.
During their lifespan Osanna had an intense live activity, with band members all dressed in long vests and with their faces painted. The collaboration with theatrical groups produced interesting shows, unique for the Italian audience of the time. They also played with Genesis in their early Italian tour, and some might argue their stage show has inspired Peter Gabriel.
Around 1973-1974, during the Landscape Of Life recording sessions, there was a lot of tension in the band, which led to a split. As a result the album had to be finished with the help of Corrado Rustici (Danilo's younger brother from Cervello) and drummer Enzo Vallicelli (then with Uno). Danilo Rustici, Elio D'Anna and drummer Enzo Vallicelli went to England to form Uno. The remaining members Lino Vairetti and Massimo Guarino gave a new life to their old band Città Frontale, this time with new musicians, and recorded 1975's El Tor.
As things didn't go well for both newly formed bands, Osanna reunited in 1977 with new members Enzo Petrone (who had played with Lino Vairetti in I Volti Di Pietra and later with Moby Dick) and Fabrizio D'Angelo. After that Danilo Rustici broke away and formed Luna.
In the 1990s there were reunions and some of the original members reappearing during concerts. A more recent Osanna incarnation includes original members guitarist Danilo Rustici and singer Lino Vairetti along with bass player Enzo Petrone from the 1977 line-up and newcomers Gennaro Barba (drums), Gigi Borgogno (guitar), Luca Urciuolo (keyboards) and Vito Ranucci (sax). For some concerts they were helped by Van Der Graaf Generator saxophonist David Jackson. Quite a few releases of the 21st Century feature rerecordings of old songs.
Some of the band members also had an artistic career in different fields, e.g. Lino Vairetti was an appreciated painter. He also did album covers.