Adelmo Fornaciari, aka Zuccero (Sugar), was born in 1955 near Reggio, Italy and grew up fascinated by American blues and R&B. Like so many of his countrymen and women, he exhibits a rare knack for fortunate and widely diverse collaborations. He has worked with Randy Jackson, Narada Michael Walden, Eric Clapton, Brian Auger, Luciano Pavarotti, the New Orleans Gospel Choir, Johnnie Johnson, Pat MacDonald of Timbuk 3, Jeff Beck, Stewart Copeland and Sting, among others. Given this background, it is thus not surprising that the present album, an international multi-million seller, is a star-studded affair guided by the motto "United in diversity, in blues we trust." More comfortable in English than most European singers, the headliner easily holds his own with a roster that includes Sheryl Crow, Macy Gray, Miles Davis, Vanessa Carlton, B.B. King, plus Sting-sponsored Algerian Rai idol Cheb Mami and Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries. From the opening, fate-haunted duet with blues legend John Lee Hooker to the closing classically-influenced, heavily orchestrated flight of fantasy sung with both Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero keeps the hits coming. --Christina Roden
