Garybaldi are one of the most distinctive bands of the Italian progressive scene — a Genoa group built around the guitar of Pier Niccolò “Bambi” Fossati, a virtuoso so devoted to Jimi Hendrix that he became known as the Italian Hendrix. Heavier and more guitar-driven than most of their symphonic countrymen, they carved out a unique, blazing corner of the RPI world.

The short version

Evolving from the 1960s Genoese band Gleemen, Garybaldi made just two albums in the early 1970s — “Nuda” (1972) and “Astrolabio” (1973) — built around Bambi Fossati’s searing, Hendrix-inspired guitar. Guitar-led, heavy and psychedelic, with progressive ambitions and organ colour from Lio Marchi, they offered something quite unlike the symphonic mainstream of Italian prog, and both records have become cult favourites.

Genoa: from Gleemen to Garybaldi

Garybaldi’s roots lay in Gleemen, a Genoa beat group formed in the mid-1960s by the guitarist Pier Niccolò “Bambi” Fossati, already admired for his virtuosity and his love of Jimi Hendrix. Gleemen made one album before the band, with essentially the same line-up, renamed itself Garybaldi in 1971 — a nod to the Italian hero Giuseppe Garibaldi — and turned toward a more progressive direction. The classic Garybaldi line-up paired Fossati with keyboardist Lio Marchi, bassist Angelo Traverso and drummer Maurizio Cassinelli.

The Italian Hendrix

At the heart of Garybaldi was the guitar of Bambi Fossati. Steeped in Jimi Hendrix — the fuzz, the wah, the feedback, even, at times, the vocal style — Fossati played with a fire and freedom rare in the Italian scene, his guitar dominating their heavy, psychedelic, blues-rooted sound. Around him, Lio Marchi’s Hammond organ and keyboards added a more symphonic, classically Italian colour, lending the music its progressive edge. Heavier and far more guitar-driven than the keyboard-led symphonic bands around them, Garybaldi occupied a unique, blazing niche — psychedelic blues-rock with one foot in the 1960s and one in the new world of prog.

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Nuda and Astrolabio

Garybaldi’s debut, “Nuda” (1972), is among the most beloved heavy albums of the Italian scene — famous not only for Fossati’s guitar but for its striking three-panel gatefold sleeve, designed by the celebrated comic artist Guido Crepax. Its first side gathers shorter rock and psych tracks, while the whole of side two is given to the beautiful suite “Moretto da Brescia”. For their second album, “Astrolabio” (1973), bassist Angelo Traverso departed and the band slimmed to a trio with new bassist Sandro Serra; more overtly progressive, it consists of just two long pieces — the twenty-minute suite “Madre di Cose Perdute”, built on an unusual circular structure, and the largely live “Sette?”. Garybaldi were also a formidable live act, sharing stages with the likes of Uriah Heep, Van der Graaf Generator and even Santana, but not long after Astrolabio the band broke up.

Album by album

Two cult albums of guitar-driven heavy prog. Tap any title for its guide.

The players and afterwards

Garybaldi revolved around Bambi Fossati, with keyboardist Lio Marchi, bassist Angelo Traverso and drummer Maurizio Cassinelli completing the classic line-up, and Sandro Serra joining for the second album. After the band split, Fossati pressed on — forming the more Latin-flavoured Bambibanda e Melodie in 1974, and later reviving the Garybaldi name with new musicians for further albums into the 1990s. A revered figure of the Genoese rock scene, Bambi Fossati was absent from music for some years due to ill health, and passed away in 2014. The two early-1970s albums, though, remain his enduring monument.

Where to start

Begin with “Nuda” (1972), the band’s most celebrated album and a cult classic of Italian heavy prog, with its unforgettable cover and the lovely “Moretto da Brescia” suite. From there, “Astrolabio” (1973) offers a more progressive, spacious and adventurous listen across its two long tracks. Both are essential for anyone drawn to Fossati’s extraordinary guitar.

Why they still matter

Garybaldi are a reminder of just how varied the Italian progressive scene could be. While most of their countrymen reached for symphonic grandeur, Garybaldi went their own way, building a heavy, psychedelic, guitar-driven music around the blazing talent of Bambi Fossati — the closest thing Italy had to its own Hendrix. Their two early-1970s albums occupy a niche no other band quite filled, and have earned lasting devotion among collectors and fans of guitar-led prog. For anyone exploring the harder, more guitar-centred side of RPI, Garybaldi are essential.

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