Curtis Mayfield
July 2^, 1988
IX Pistoia Blues Festival
Piazza del Duomo
Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy

Excellent RAI FM broadcast recording, 53:47, A

Recorded by RAI for the Renzo Arbore 'DOC' program and was broadcast on television and radio.

Source: master off-air cassette (courtesy of M.R. archive)
Transfer by M.R.: MCA pb on unspecified cassette deck > Zoom H4N > wav @ 16/44.1
Lineage: MCA > A/D transfer > wav(16/44.1) > edit > flac(8)


Musicians:

Curtis Mayfield - el-guitar, vocals
Frank Amato - keyboards
Lebron "Benny" Scott - el-bass
Luis Stefanel - congas, bongos, percussion
Lee Goodness - kit drums


Set List:

1 Little Child Running (6:12)
2 It`s All Right (4:45)
3 Billy Jack (7:37)
4 Freddie`s Dead (6:37)
5 Pusherman #2 (7:16)
6 We`ve Gotta Have Peace (4:52)
7 We`ve Only Just Begun (3:11)
8 Move On Up (8:05)
9 There Can Be No For Sure (5:08)


plaz post-editing and mastering:
- corrected minor gain changes
- repaired a few minor clicks and drops out
- balanced channels, increased gain of tracks 06 through 10 by 2.1 dB
- corrected FM channel phase offsets to centre stereo image: Tracks 1-5 +0.23 ms, Tracks 1-6, +0.12 ms
- normalized gain of the set to 0 dB
- cut tracks, generated flac, ffp and md5 files
- researched and wrote this document


Many thanks our intrepid 'tape sourcerer', M.R., for recording, digitizing and sharing this marvelous concert broadcast.

Brought to you courtesy M.R. with an assist from plaz for The Traders Den, April 15, 2020.


REFERENCES

LMA: archive.org/details/AndreaBoninoCurtisMayfieldatPistoiaBlues1988-1

These two photos taken backstage demonstrate that Mayfield played the Pistoia Blues Festival in 1988. However, he was most likely a late addition when a headline performer cancelled. Mayfield's name does not appear in any of the promotional material for the 1988 Pistoia Blues Festival. Hence, none of the set list archives I consulted list this performance.

^ The 1988 Festival ran from Friday, July 1, to Sunday, July 3, 1988, but the cancelled performer was scheduled to play in the early evening on Saturday, the 2nd.


Artist Line up at the 1988 Pistoia Blues Festival: https://pistoiablues.com/en/edizione/1988/

Andy J. Forest Band, A.C. Reed, Maurice John Vaughan, Ron Wood & Bo Diddley "Gunslinger Tour", Johnny Winter, Dennis & The Jets, Louisiana Red, Blues Brothers Band Reunion, Booker T. & The MG's, Sam Moore, Rufus Thomas, Larry Thurston, Zoot Money, John Lee Hooker, Treves Blues Band, Magic Slim, Otis Rush, Melvin Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble.


Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mayfield

The biographical abstract from Wikipedia is pasted below.

Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. He first achieved success and recognition with The Impressions during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and 1960s, and later worked as a solo artist.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Mayfield started his musical career in a gospel choir. Moving to the North Side, he met Jerry Butler in 1956 at the age of 14, and joined the vocal group The Impressions. As a songwriter, Mayfield became noted as one of the first musicians to bring more prevalent themes of social awareness into soul music. In 1965, he wrote "People Get Ready" for the Impressions, which displayed his more politically charged songwriting. Ranked at no. 24 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the song received numerous other awards, and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, as well as being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

After leaving the Impressions in 1970 in the pursuit of a solo career, Mayfield released several albums, including the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film Super Fly in 1972. The soundtrack was noted for its socially conscious themes, mostly addressing problems surrounding inner city minorities such as crime, poverty and drug abuse. The album was ranked at no. 72 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after lighting equipment fell on him during a live performance at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, on August 13, 1990. Despite this, he continued his career as a recording artist, releasing his final album New World Order in 1996. Mayfield won a Grammy Legend Award in 1994 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. He is a double inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of the Impressions in 1991, and again in 1999 as a solo artist. He was also a two-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. He died from complications of type 2 diabetes at the age of 57 on December 26, 1999.

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

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