Although he grew up in an Italian family, Anthony Taddeo didn’t know much about Italian folk music until much later. The percussionist/composer discovered the musical thread that led to forming Alla Boara while in college, when he heard recordings of Italian folk musicians made by the American musicologist Alan Lomax in 1954.

A professional musician with a long list of collaborators, Taddeo formed his 6-piece ensemble in 2021 with singer Amanda Powell and instrumentalists on accordion, trumpet, guitar and bass, with himself as the percussionist.