Black’n’Blue is a format that draws on the main elements of 20th-century American music, from the rural sounds of African-rooted blues to the fusion with white-origin rock’n’roll, within a project that involves musicians from different parts of the world. A Vox Day production featuring musicians M.B. Gordy, Darrell Black e Mick Taras, Samuele Dessì and Salvatore Spano.
M.B. Gordy is a musician and producer based in Los Angeles. Over the past thirty years, he has worked as a performer, composer, professor, and session musician. He holds a Master’s degree in Music from the “California Institute of the Arts” and has an extensive specialization in ethnic percussion. His recording studio, “Riot Drum Studios”, has produced music for many artists, including “Michael Bublé”, and his band “Opium Moon” won a Grammy in 2019 for Best New Age Album; he also received a second nomination in 2022.
Darrell Black is an American singer, born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He started “singing quietly” in class by accident, because people couldn’t figure out where the singing was coming from, as he was so shy and introverted. He was discovered by an older schoolmate who asked him to audition to become the lead singer of the senior-year band. Since then, he has become a highly successful singer-songwriter and producer, sharing the stage with a host of big names in the music world, such as Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Kenny Loggins, Jonathan Butler, Wayman Tisdale, and Elton John, just to name a few.
Mick Taras has embraced a career as a musician since the age of 18. His first professional adventure in the music world was with the Sardinian band “Joe Perrino” and the Mellowtones. His artistic journey took shape in California, where he has lived since 1993. After two years of study at the “Musician Institute of Technology” in Hollywood, he performed as a live guitarist, playing with bands such as “Motels”, “Faith Evans”, “The Doors”, “Little Feat”, “Chicago”, “Suzy Bogguss”, and many others. His career as a session musician includes collaborations with artists such as “Neil Young”, “Joe Jonas”, “Shawn Colvin”, “Motels”, “Gloria Estefan”, “Nelly” and many others. Mick returns to Sardinia with this special blues project, an old passion of his, to perform in front of an audience of friends, admirers, and enthusiasts, with a top-level band.
Samuele Dessì is a guitarist, programmer, and producer. Between 2004 and 2013, he worked with top names in Italian pop music, including Celso Valli and Fio Zanotti, with whom he produced several widely successful albums, including works for Vasco Rossi, Lucio Dalla, Biagio Antonacci, Renato Zero, and Jovanotti. Between 2001 and 2005, he collaborated with Adriano Celentano’s team, working with artists such as Manu Chao, Joe Cocker, Michael Stipe, David Bowie, Shaggy, Giorgio Gaber, and Dario Fo, among others. In 2006, he founded the project L’Armeria dei Briganti with Renzo Cugis and Andrea Murru, with whom he produced In Teatro and Il complesso di R., handling songwriting, production, and mixing. In 2007, he joined the Dorian Gray reunion, becoming their guitarist and producing Forse il Sole ci Odia (winner of the 2009 PIMI award) and the latest album Moonage Mantra, both in collaboration with Davide Catinari.
Salvatore Spano was born in Sardinia. He studied piano, organ, composition, electronic music, and orchestral conducting in both classical and jazz settings. He has collaborated with numerous artists and institutions, including the Fondazione Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, the Orchestra Jazz della Sardegna, the Ente Musicale di Nuoro, and Sardegna Teatro. He has recorded over 15 audio CDs regularly released in Europe, Japan, and the United States. He works full-time as a musician, performing live on piano and organ, composing, arranging, teaching, and conducting research.
Scheduled Performance: Sunday, October 26th, 2025, at 09:00 PM
