Mucca Pazza

Mucca Pazza is an interdisciplinary instrumental music and performance ensemble based in Chicago, USA.

Mucca Pazza consists of approximately thirty active members and performs instrumental music; their mode of performance is informed by physical theater. Mucca Pazza’s instrumentation is loosely based on that of a traditional American marching band - drum line, sousaphone, trombones, trumpets, saxophones - but also includes electric guitar, mandolin, violin, cello, accordion, and cheerleaders. Their sound references American marching band and big band traditions,^[1] as well as Middle Eastern music, California surf, Ennio Morricone, and 50s television show themes. They perform in mismatched marching band uniforms,^[2] and are known for their energetic performances.^[3]

Their debut album, A Little Marching Band, was released in 2006. Their second full-length album, Plays Well Together, was released in June 2008. The band's song "Borino Oro" was featured in a season 4 episode of the Showtime television show Weeds, and the songs "Tube Sock Tango" and "St. Fresca's Regret" were used in Season 1, Episode 8 of Amazon'sTransparent. Their third album "Safety Fifth" was released in July, 2012 and a fourth full-length, "L.Y.A." was released in October 2014.

History

Mucca Pazza was formed in Chicago in 2004. Many of the founding members met while performing with Redmoon Theater.^[4] Early on, rehearsals took place in the parking lot of a steel mill.^[5] The first official Mucca Pazza gig was at trombone player Tom Howe’s wedding^[6] at Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago.

Notable performances

Oom-Pah-Pah

canoes on the Chicago River^[7]

Late Night with Conan O'Brien^[8]

Lollapalooza^[9]

Derby Days Parade^[10]

with Exene Cervenka^[11]

with Andrew Bird^[12]

New Belgium Tour de Fat,^[13][14]

Lincoln Center Out of Doors^[15]

Festivale Internationale de Louisiane^[16]

Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park^[17]

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts^[18]

Edison National Historical Park^[19]

Montreal Jazz Fest^[20][21]

Mass MoCA,^[22][23]

Falconfest^[24]

Interlochen^[25]

Collaborations

with the Chicago Sinfonietta

In September 2014, Mucca Pazza performed as part of the Chicago Sinfonietta’s opening concert of the season.^[26] Together, the Sinfonietta and Mucca Pazza performed two pieces by Mucca Pazza composers, in orchestral arrangements by Joe Clark: “Rabbits and Trees,” by David Smith; and “Holiday on Ice,” by Mark Messing. The two ensembles also collaborated in performing “The 1812 Overture” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in a conceit which featured Mucca Pazza as the invading French army and the full symphony orchestra as Russia.^[27]

with the Chicago Children's Choir

In May 2014, Mucca Pazza performed together with the 3500 children of the Chicago Children's Choir at the CCC's annual "Paint the Town Red" concert at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.^[28]

Tiny Desk concert

In January 2015, Mucca Pazza performed on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk concert series, with either 23 or 24 band members present.^[29] Bob Boilen, creator of the series, described the band’s performance as “the biggest and most colorful Tiny Desk show of them all, this one was a challenge and a thrill to pull off.”^[30] Mucca Pazza’s appearance was later selected by Bob Boilen as one of the 15 best Tiny Desk concerts of 2015.^[31]

Music videos

Mucca Pazza has created music videos for the following songs: Boss Taurus,^[32] All Out of Bubblegum (live at Mass MoCA),^[33] Tube Sock Tango (wax cylinder version),^[34] and The Sit Down Waltz.^[35]

Mucca Pazza is featured in the official music video for Andrew Bird’s song “Fitz and the Dizzyspells”, which was filmed at The Hideout in Chicago in 2009.^[36]

Discography

Albums

• A Little Marching Band (2007)
• Plays Well Together (2008)
• Safety Fifth (2012)
• L.Y.A. (2014), engineered and produced by Nick Broste

References