The J. & F. Band

The J&F Band is on the move once again! The new musical journey taken by the band with "Star Motel: an American music  experience" spans from the North-East Chicago blues, with Route 66, to the funk of the deep South, going West to L.A. via Nogales, Arizona, to meet the Mingus ghost and his visions, back through the Great Plains where the Rez is the way of life for many. To end where it all began, in the South-East country and funky vibe... The 30-minute Mingus celebration, in the 100th anniversary of his birthday, well represents the aesthetics of both Tiziano Tononi and this diverse band, ranging from a deep down-to-earth groove to the most adventurous and abstract, contemporary-type situations, a multi-directional approach to both writing/arranging and playing. A trademark, for the J&F Band. 

Road trip! The J. & F. Band invites you to take an American road trip. Pile into the car, let’s make it a classic automobile for this journey. How about a 1960 Cadillac DeVille convertible with tail fins? On the front seat, we find a copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves Of Grass open to his “Song Of Myself.” It reads, “The past and present wilt—I have fill'd them, emptied them. And proceed to fill my next fold of the future. Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”

Indeed, this band contains multiples. From its inception by Tiziano Tononi as a tribute to The Allman Brothers Band to the formation of The J. & F. Band, the ‘J’ for Jaimoe aka Johnny Lee Johnson, drummer and founder of The Allman Brothers Band and ‘F’ for bassist Joe Fonda, a giant in the jazz world, this ensemble contains multitudes.