The Dutch band I Compani has been specialists concerning the work of Fellini’s regular composer Nino Rota for many years now. In 1985 the band made its name thanks to a program called Fellini/Rota, a combination of scenes from various films by Fellini (la Strada, la Dolce Vita, 81/2, Amarcord, Roma) with live music of Nino Rota. The compelling, melancholic, but often also very humorous music of Rota was arranged for a modern jazz septet by leader Bo van de Graaf, who left a lot of space for improvisation. This program was performed over a hundred times, both in Holland and abroad. In 1985 Bo van de Graaf visited Fellini in his studio (Cinecitta) in Rome, where he surprised the master with the first album of his band.
