Mambo Italiano with Dan Chouinard

Continuing down a side alley of last year's bicycling travelogue, Cafe Europa, Dan Chouinard and a host of illustrious friends invite you on another European musical ramble.

St. Paul, Minn. - Dan Chouinard visited the Italian roots of American popular music with Mambo Italiano: A Transatlantic Romance in Popular Song Saturday, May 20th at the Fitzgerald Theater. Chouinard was joined by public radio notables such as Prudence Johnson, Peter Ostroushko, and the Mandragora Tango Orchestra as they explored music from peasant songs and opera to postwar hits from the likes of Louis Prima, Antonio Bennett and Concetta Francis. With the help of Jim TenBensel, Dan Dressen, and Joe Pulice, this spicy meatball of Italian song rolls through the mid-century's most recognizable tunes. See if you can keep from singing along yourself.

About the Performers
Dan Chouinard attended St. John's University and graduated in 1986 with degrees in music and French. He has built a reputation as a pianist, accordionist and musical director, appearing occasionally on A Prairie Home Companion and The Morning Show. Minnesota Public Radio frequently commissions his work for projects that delicately balance words with music. Chouinard has toured extensively around the country and in Europe playing accordion and piano.

Peter Ostroushko is considered one of the most accomplished instrumentalists and gifted composers of his generation. His work has been used by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns and performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Sinfonia and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra among others.

Prudence Johnson has spent 25 years masterfully giving songs of jazz, country, pop, folk and Broadway its due. Her music has taken her from nightclubs to Carnegie Hall, from the theater stage to the Silver Screen and from the Midwest to the Middle East. Johnson can be heard frequently on A Prairie Home Companion as Garrison Keillor's singing partner.

Mandragora Tango Orchestra was founded in 2001 and consists of three violins, cello, bass, piano and accordion. The group specializes in tangos of all sorts, as well as waltzes, milongas, swing, and ballroom Latin dance music.

Jim TenBensel is a well known Twin Cities trombonist, famed for his extraordinary capability in modern jazz and traditional jazz as well as his wonderful bass voice. He has toured with Henry Mancini, Ralph Marterie, and Stan Kenton.

Dan Dressen is an active tenor and can be heard on recordings of Aaron Copland's The Tender Land and Benjamin Britten's Paul Bunyan. His career has included performances with the Minnesota Opera, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and VocalEssence.

Joe Pulice has been an in-demand drummer/percussionist in the Twin Cities since 1980. He has won two Minnesota Jazz Music Awards. Pulice has performed with many artists, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Harry Connick Jr.