A very important band that would have deserved much more success than they really had at the time, Jumbo were formed in Milan around singer-songwriter Alvaro Fella, previously playing as bassist with the group from Vercelli Juniors. Fella was noticed and signed by Numero Uno, with which he issued two singles in 1970 under the name Jumbo, both sharing the same B-side (Due righe da te) anc containing two cover versions, Montego Bay and In estate, italian version of In the summertime.
In the first of these singles the backing band featured Franz Di Cioccio and Flavio Premoli from Quelli (later Premiata Forneria Marconi) and Mario Lavezzi (some years later with Il Volo).
After a new contract with Philips, Fella recorded in 1971 his debut LP, with help from the musicians who'd been in the first Jumbo line-up: Daniele Bianchini, Sergio Conte, Dario Guidotti, Vito Balzano and bassist Alberto Agazzi, soon replaced by Aldo Gargano.
The style was rather thin and the album was mostly based on acoustic guitar compositions with little space for electric group parts. There are some good moments like Amore sono qua and Dio e (re-recorded on second album), but the result is not impressive and on a lesser level than their following works.
The record was released in 1972, followed after a few months by the second album, DNA, an incredibly mature work. Especially when compared with the previous one, it's obvious that this is their real first album as a group.
It's composed of four extended tracks, with the long Suite per il Signor K taking the whole of side one. The beginning is in the same style as on the first album, based on acoustic instruments (guitar, flute, piano) but suddenly a distorted electric guitar introduces a much more aggressive sound, led by Fella's harsh voice and strong lyrics. One of the best Italian prog albums for sure!
Last album in 1973, after a drummer change with Tullio Granatello from Novara replacing the original member Vito Balzano. Vietato ai minori di 18 anni? is their most ambitious work, containing strong lyrics and fragments of avantgarde-inspired music, with the help of Franco Battiato. Come vorrei essere uguale a te and Specchio deal with difficult subjects as homosexuality and social alienation and the result is intriguing and rewarding even if less immediate than DNA. The strong contents of the lyrics caused the band being banned by radio programs.
The band was very popular live and kept playing for some years, in 1975 they released a last commercial single, playing at Milan Parco Lambro festivals in 1975 and 1976 (this time with Roberto Biancone on sax and Valter Frazzi on keyboards, replacing Guidotti and Conte).
After a not successful reunion attempt in 1983, documented on the Violini d'autunno CD, the band reunited again in late 1989 with original members bar Sergio Conte (replaced by Paolo Dolfini) for a one-off concert in Paris with IQ and Magma, organized by a French fan of theirs, and the very nice evening is documented on the brilliant Live in Paris CD.
2001 has seen the release of another CD, called Passing by, containing 1991-2001 recordings by guitarist Daniele Bianchini (always the driving force behind the reunion attempts) aided by some of the band original members, like Alvaro Fella, Dario Guidotti and Tullio Granatello, more new age oriented and mainly instrumental, but containing some very good moments.
In 2007 BTF released the DVD Anthology, containing interviews, pictures and videos documenting the group's career.
After leaving Jumbo, flutist Dario Guidotti played in the first line-up and debut LP of Treves Blues Band, and since 1978 with the group Cacao, releasing an eponymous album for the Pilgrim Fathers label (PFH-27701) in 1981.
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