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Open Mouth Blues Orchestra

Also known as: OMBO

• Italy• Active: 2007–
Soul BluesFunk BluesGospel BluesBlues

A thirteen-piece Milanese soul-blues big band, founded in 2007 by saxophonist Lorenzo Vergani, that brings 1960s-70s black music out of the clubs and into the peripheral squares of Milan.

Instruments
Vocals, Saxophone, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Piano, Hammond Organ
from
Italia
Open Mouth Blues Orchestra (OMBO) is a thirteen-piece black-music big band from Milan, founded in 2007 by tenor saxophonist Lorenzo Vergani, who leads and directs the group (Source: Mitomorrow). The line-up spans four woodwinds/brass, two guitars, bass, drums, percussion, piano/Hammond and three lead vocalists, with members ranging in age from 30 to 70, and draws its repertoire from 1960s-70s soul, funk, gospel, blues and jazz, citing James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Etta James and Aretha Franklin among its touchstones alongside original compositions (Source: Mitomorrow). Since 2012 the orchestra has released three recordings and a short film, including the 2017 single "Pusherman / Mr. Magic" and the 2018 album "About Blue" (11 tracks) (Source: Discogs). From late 2018 the band began taking its music directly into Milan's underserved peripheral neighbourhoods through the "Eventi nei quartieri" initiative, debuting on the street at Piazza Dergano before touring outdoor plazas in areas including Capuana, Quarto Oggiaro, Barona and Segesta each spring and summer, with winters spent in clubs and theatres (Source: Mitomorrow). Vergani has described the project's intent explicitly: "There is an important political and cultural component; our songs discuss rights, social redemption, and civil equality struggles" (Source: Mitomorrow). In August 2025 the band released "Right Thinkers Fear," a multimedia project combining an illustrated book and vinyl record — inspired by Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" and telling a crime story set along Milan's metro Line 2, with illustrations by Alessandra Di Consoli and Filippo "Nobez" Benzoni and choir direction by Marta Rainoldi (Source: Il Popolo del Blues).

Musical Influence

By taking a full-scale soul-blues big band out of Milan's clubs and into its underserved peripheral piazze, OMBO has built a distinctive civic-minded model for how blues-rooted black music can engage a city's outer neighbourhoods directly (Source: Mitomorrow).

Formative experiences

  • •2007: Founded in Milan by tenor saxophonist Lorenzo Vergani, who becomes the band's leader and director (Source: Mitomorrow).
  • •2012: Begins releasing recordings, the first of three studio releases plus a short film over the following years (Source: Il Popolo del Blues).
  • •2017: Releases the single "Pusherman / Mr. Magic" on vinyl (Source: Discogs).
  • •2018: Releases the 11-track album "About Blue" (Source: Discogs; KKBOX).
  • •Late 2018: Launches street performances in Milan's peripheral neighbourhoods via the "Eventi nei quartieri" initiative, debuting at Piazza Dergano (Source: Mitomorrow).
  • •August 2025: Releases "Right Thinkers Fear," a multimedia illustrated-book-and-vinyl project inspired by Agatha Christie, set along Milan's metro Line 2 (Source: Il Popolo del Blues).

Stories & Anecdotes

"The band's thirteen members range in age from 30 to 70, and include four woodwind/brass players, two guitarists, a rhythm section and three lead vocalists who rotate as soloists (Source: Mitomorrow)."
"Rather than playing Milan's city centre, OMBO deliberately tours the outer, underserved neighbourhoods — Piazza Dergano, Capuana, Quarto Oggiaro, Barona and Segesta among them — delivering roughly an hour of original black-music repertoire with theatre-level production values (Source: Mitomorrow)."
""Right Thinkers Fear" (2025) reimagines Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" as a crime story set along Milan's metro Line 2, paired with original illustrations and a vinyl soundtrack (Source: Il Popolo del Blues)."

Collaborators

Tiziano Tononi
n.d.

Guest percussionist appearing on select tracks (Source: Mitomorrow).

Francesco Chiapperini
n.d.

Guest flute player appearing on select tracks (Source: Mitomorrow).

Valentino Vitali
n.d.

Guest timbales player appearing on select tracks (Source: Mitomorrow).

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
2017Pusherman / Mr. Magic——————Vinyl single (Source: Discogs).
2018About Blue——————11-track studio album (Source: Discogs; KKBOX).
2025Right Thinkers Fear——————Multimedia illustrated-book-and-vinyl project, released August 2025 (Source: Il Popolo del Blues).

Famous songs

01Pusherman
02Mr. Magic
03About Blue

External links

facebook instagram discogs.com facebook.com

Booking / Contact

Booking agency
Not publicly available
Agent/management
Lorenzo Vergani
Booking phone
Not publicly available
Booking URL
Not publicly available

Ingen egen booking-agent funnet; kontakt via bandleder Lorenzo Vergani.

Source

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Sources

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