In the early 1970s, Stefano Torossi composed and Beppe Carta directed the music for Ora Beat!, an album of original jazz, easy listening, and Italian Beat instrumentals for Metropole Records. Intended for library music and soundtrack use, the LP includes “Favolosamente,” “Leggenda,” “Occhio magico,” “Pocket,” “Giochi di spiaggia,” and “Cala violina” on side one and “Dolce Shake,” “Valzer per rosy,” “La mia bossa nova,” “Slep,” “Vetrine,” and “Bighellonando” on side two.

Ora Beat! is the first of three albums bassist-conductor Beppe Carta and composer Stefano Torossi made together for Metropole Records, a small Italian label specializing in library music.

Stefano Torossi’s “Favolosamente,” the opening track, is on SoundCloud:

Notice: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

In addition to Ora Beat!, Stefano Torossi and Beppe Carta did two more limited release LPs for Metropole, Musica per tutte le età and Fantasia Musicale.

The trio of vinyl releases are numbered consecutively: SM 7010, SM 7011, and SM 7012. It seems none have been reissued since the initial pressing sometime around 1972 or 1973, at least not through the end of 2015.

Stefano Torossi’s “Pocket,” the fourth track on Ora Beat!, is on YouTube:

When asked recently about the album, Stefano Torossi commented:

It’s one of those projects we were asked to sign when we were working a lot for Rai and in other combinations. All I did was to suggest some of the themes, which were arranged and recorded by Beppe Carta.

Before the three albums with Beppe Carta, Stefano Torossi made a pair of LPs for Metropole: Grecia! (SM 7005) and Telemusica N. 1 (SM 7006). These out of print LPs are both near-impossible to find and have never been issued again.

Stefano Torossi’s Grecia! is a full length LP of traditional Greek songs composed by Torossi and performed by Complesso Semiranis.

Stefano Torossi’s “Giochi di spiaggia,” the fifth track on Ora Beat! is here:

Notice: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

Out of print and never reissued, the Ora Beat! album is difficult to find. However, copies appear now and then at places like these: Discogs, Funkabolik.com, cdandlp.com, and the biggest auction site of all, eBay Worldwide.

An audio file of Stefano Torossi’s “Dolce Shake,” the opening track on side two of Ora Beat!, is here:

Notice: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

More Torossi Music on Metropole Records

Stefano Torossi’s under-the-radar gem “Corri a casa (1 versione)” from his Telemusica N. 1 LP has been uploaded to YouTube:

More music from Stefano Torossi’s Metropole Records’ releases is found in the Albums and Audio sections, both accessed from the top of the Web page.

A video EP for Ora Beat! featuring album cuts currently found on YouTube has featured up to four Torossi compositions in recent months. At the moment, however, only three tracks are available: “Leggenda,” “Pocket,” and “La mia bossa nova”:

Online Audio Sampler Features Music from Four Metropole LPs

A selection of tracks from four of the five LPs Stefano Torossi released on Italy’s Metropole Records in the early to mid-1970s, including Telemusica N. 1 (SM 7006), Ora Beat! (SM 7010), Musica per tutte le età (SM 7011), and Fantasia Musicale (SM 7012), the latter three arranged and directed by Beppe Carta. The out of print, limited release albums were intended for use in movies, TV, and radio and never been reissued in any format.

During this busy period, Stefano Torossi was composing music for various movies, TV programs, and a number of artists including I Marc 4. In 1970, they released “Ray Ban,” a Torossi original under his alias “Fotriafa.” This 45 single was reissued as the B-side of “Sweet Beat” last year, part of a limited-run by Black Cat Records.

A video for I Marc 4i’s “Ray Ban,” credited to “Fotriafa” (aka Stefano Torossi) is on YouTube:

Coming Soon: An Interview with Giovanni Tommaso

This site offers an exclusive interview with composer, bass player, and bandleader Giovanni Tommaso. Among subjects discussed is the making of Tommaso and Stefano Torossi’s 1970 album Echoing America (reissued in CD by Italy’s Cometa Edizioni Musicali in 2013) and Tommaso’s extensive recording, performing, and teaching career.

Giovanni Tommaso and Stefano Torossi’s “Metropolis,” an original composition from Echoing America, is here:

Giovanni Tommaso has been making jazz music since the late 1950s. “Novembre,” an original composition by Tommaso from the 1988 Giovanni Tommaso Quintet album To Chet, was uploaded to the Internet recently. Players on this track include Flavio Boltro on trumpet, Roberto Gatto on drums, Danilo Rea on piano, and Tommaso on bass:

NOTE: This Spotlight on Beppe Carta and Stefano Torossi’s Ora Beat! was first published 16 April 2014. This upgraded version adds three new audio tracks as well as updating some of the original content.