Mario Biondi

The distinctive voice of Italian soul singer Mario Biondi can be heard across a raft of original albums, covers and collaborations. Born Mario Ranno on January 28, 1971 in Catania, Sicily, the Italian singer known as Mario Biondi cut his teeth singing in Gregorian choirs as a child before going on to work as a session musician in studios, lending his support to Italian singers and other international artists, including the legendary Ray Charles. He kicked off his own recording career in 2003 on a collaborative album with Chicco Capiozzo and Michele Guidi, Whiskey a Go-Go, before stepping out with his own debut album, the rich soul-jazz of Handful of Soul (2006), which he created with the High Five Quintet and spawned the breakthrough single "This Is What You Are." In 2010, Mario Biondi worked as a voice actor on the animated film Rapunzel - New Feels. He went on to conceive another eight studio albums, from the festive-themed Mario Christmas in 2013 to the funky, bossa nova-flecked Brasil in 2018, which went to Number 15 in Italy and remained there for four weeks. He has also released a handful of live albums, including I Love You More (2007) and Gambling Man in 2011 with the Duke Orchestra. In 2021, he released Dare, which featured a number of collaborative guests including the High Five Quintet and Incognito.