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Foto: Maurolabe (Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain) – Torrita Blues Festival, 2017
Contemporary Blues
Maurizio Pugno
Also known as: Sacromud
Born: 3. august 1966• Italy• Active: 1982–
BluesSoul BluesRoots BluesBlues Rock
Italian blues guitarist, composer and bandleader from Gubbio with 35+ years in the European blues scene, leader of Rico Blues Combo and now Sacromud — the first Italian group to record at Sun Studio, Memphis.
Instruments
Guitar, Vocals
Labels
Pacific Blues Records, Edizioni Labilia
from
Italia
Born
3. august 1966
Musical Influence
As the guitarist and bandleader behind Rico Blues Combo and Sacromud, Pugno has spent four decades bridging Italian blues with soul, roots and rock, most recently becoming the first Italian act to record at Memphis's Sun Studio (Source: official site; press).
Formative experiences
- •1966: Born 3 August in Gubbio, Umbria (Source: official site).
- •1982: Begins performing professionally (Source: official site).
- •1985: Forms his first band, ½ Blues Band, with harmonica player Rico Migliarini (Source: Italian Wikipedia).
- •1986–1994: Plays guitar in the Wolves Blues Band, touring Italy including the 1988 Pistoia Blues Festival (Source: Italian Wikipedia).
- •1996: Co-founds Rico Blues Combo; the 1997 album "White Whiskey" is praised as one of the best Italian blues albums of its era (Source: Italian Wikipedia).
- •2007: Launches a solo career and records "That's What I Found Out" with Sugar Ray Norcia, which wins an award for best European blues CD of the year in Paris (Source: official site).
- •2019: Signs with Labilia Srl and founds Pugno Blues Band, which evolves into Sacromud (Source: official site).
- •2025: Sacromud releases "The Sun Experience," recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis (Source: Guitar Club Magazine).
Instruments & Equipment
Stories & Anecdotes
"Sacromud is the first and only Italian group known to have recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, following in the footsteps of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and U2 (Source: Guitar Club Magazine; Zarabazà)."
"For the 2025 album "The Sun Experience," the band used the original piano on which Jerry Lee Lewis recorded "Great Balls of Fire" in October 1957 (Source: Zarabazà)."
Collaborators
2007–2009
Roomful of Blues vocalist; co-lead on "That's What I Found Out" and "Kill the Coffee" (Source: official site; Discogs).
2009–2012
Roomful of Blues vocalist/harmonica player; co-lead on "Kill the Coffee" and "Made in Italy – Live at Gubbio Opera House" (Source: Discogs).
1986–1994
American jazz-fusion drummer; collaborated during the Wolves Blues Band years (Source: Italian Wikipedia).
2018–present
Lead vocalist of Sacromud/Pugno Blues Band (Source: official site).
Watch & Listen
Featured
SACROMUD: Ordinary Day - Live!
Live performance of "Ordinary Day" at Le Cantine De l'Arena, Verona, April 2022.
YouTube
BBF2023 "Xrossroads" - Quarta serata | Maurizio Pugno Sacromud Project
Maurizio Pugno e Sacromud
Sacromud: THE MULE
MAURIZIO PUGNO The Sacroffle
Maurizio Pugno - BluesLand: Paternità e Jump Blues
Maurizio Pugno Large Band & Mark Dufresne - THE LION'S DEN
Maurizio Pugno & Sugar Ray Norcia Band "Bite The Dust"
MAURIZIO PUGNO & SUGAR RAY NORCIA "Kill The Coffee"
Watch & Listen
Henter videoer fra YouTube…
Discography
| Year | Title | Producer | Studio | Label | Chart | Sales | Musicians | YouTube | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Last Nite (Wolves Blues Band) | — | — | — | — | — | — | LP with the Wolves Blues Band; Pugno arranged and performed guitar (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 1997 | White Whiskey (Rico Blues Combo) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Praised as one of the best Italian blues albums of its era (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 1999 | Sleepy Town (Rico Blues Combo) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Studio album (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 2002 | Live at Murphy's (Rico Blues Combo) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live album (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 2005 | House of Blues Rags (Rico Blues Combo) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Studio album (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 2007 | That's What I Found Out (with Sugar Ray Norcia) | — | — | — | — | — | — | First Pacific Blues Records release, produced by Jerry Hall; won an award for best European blues CD of the year in Paris (Source: official site). | |
| 2008 | Surfing with The Frog (with The Rockwool) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Collaborative album (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 2009 | Kill the Coffee (with Sugar Ray Norcia & Mark DuFresne) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pacific Blues Records (Source: Discogs). | |
| 2012 | Made in Italy – Live at Gubbio Opera House (with Sugar Ray Norcia & Mark DuFresne) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live CD/DVD with the Maurizio Pugno Large Band (Source: Discogs). | |
| 2012 | Letters from the Bootland (with Mz Dee) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Collaborative album (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 2013 | The Next Episode (with Mz Dee) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Collaborative album (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 2016 | 20 (Rico Blues Combo) | — | — | — | — | — | — | Anniversary album (Source: Italian Wikipedia). | |
| 2022 | Sacromud | — | — | — | — | — | — | Self-titled debut of the Sacromud Pugno Collective, Edizioni Labilia (Source: official site). | |
| 2024 | Gubbio to Memphis – Live At Opera House; The Overground Suite | — | — | — | — | — | — | Double live album (Source: official site). | |
| 2025 | The Sun Experience | — | — | — | — | — | — | Recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis, released 16 May 2025 — the first Italian group to record there since Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and U2 (Source: Guitar Club Magazine; Zarabazà). |
Famous songs
01The Mule
02Kill the Coffee
03That's What I Found Out
Awards & Recognition
2007
Best European Blues CD of the Year, Paris
Winner (for "That's What I Found Out")
External links
Booking / Contact
Booking agency
Labilia Srl
Agent/management
Mauro (Labilia)
Booking email
mauro@labilia.itBooking phone
+39 393 99.00.319Booking URL
https://www.mauriziopugno.it/Booking/info via produksjonsselskapet Labilia Srl; personlig kontakt maestropugno@gmail.com.
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