by Evan C. Gutierrez Pop-jazz fusion outfit Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel was born in Caserta, Italy, in 1980. The group played the underground Italian rock scene for a number of years, even winning in the rock category at the prestigious Sanremo Festival in 1987. After experimenting with pop influences throughout the late '80s and early '90s, Avion Travel found a sound uniquely theirs, first captured in their 1992 release Bello Sguardo. Deftly weaving together gritty rock sounds with strings and film noir-esque musical themes, Avion Travel became a widely recognized creative voice in Italian music, and soon a contract with Sugar Music came their way. Opplà came out in 1993 and Finalmente Fiori was released in 1995 to great critical acclaim. The following year saw the debut performance of La Guerra Vista Dalla Luna, a one-act operetta that was subsequently performed in theaters all over the country. The next year the band took to the road on a pan-European tour with over 200 engagements that produced a live record, entitled Vivo di Canzoni. In 1998 the group won at Sanremo for the second time, presenting the song "Dormi e Sogna," which took the Critics and Jury Award for Best Song and Best Musical Arrangement, and issued an album, Cirano, that same year. They won the same award only two years later with the song "Sentimento," the same year as the release of Storie d'Amore. 2003's Poco Mossi Gli Altri Bacini and a 2004 best-of album called Per Come Ti Amo were followed by the band's first U.S. appearances through 2005. The musicians of Avion Travel would spend the next few years on other collaborations with limited success before reuniting in the studio to produce 2007's Danson Metropoli, a collection of Paolo Conte songs. The record was well received by audiences and critics alike, reaching number three on national charts.