for theindependent is «the old school Hollywood heroin we needed, for the Guardian is «the professional whistler on everyone’s lips». Her name is Molly Lewis, she is American and in the next few days she will be in Italy: Saturday 12 November at the Covo Club in Bologna and Sunday 13 at the Arci Bellezza in Milan.
The passion for the art of whistling came to her at the age of 12, when her parents gave her the record Whistles Broadway by Steve “The Whistler” Herbst. He has so far released two softly retro EPs, The Forgotten Edge of 2021 and the recent Mirage.
«Why is the whistle blowing?», he asks those who enter his official site in search of information. «To communicate, to create, because it’s a way of gesturing. It is done out of sadness and out of joy. It’s an instrument unlike any other, it’s a wonderful way to breathe. As my mentor Geert Chatrou once told me, you don’t choose to boo, it’s the boo that chooses you.”
We asked her to style for Rolling a playlist of his favorite whistle-based tunes. Some are Italian, Alessandro Alessandroni being one of his own whistle heroes.
“Young Flirting” Alessandro Alessandroni
Alessandro Alessandroni is mine whistle hero. He is an incredible multi-instrumentalist and composer, authoring hundreds of hours of music. He is a great source of inspiration. It was through him that I discovered that the whistle could be a wonderful solo instrument. Obviously I adore his collaborations with Ennio Morricone and Piero Umiliani. Just the whistle gave me the opportunity to discover the Italian composers of that era. I like how they played with genres, styles, instrumentation.
“A Fistful of Dollars – Titles” Ennio Morricone
It couldn’t be there. It’s a classic, iconic whistle. I love that this sound created by two Italians like Morricone and Alessandroni has become synonymous with the American Old West.
“The Enchanted Sea” Martin Denny
Here the whistle is an otherworldly portal that leads to a mystical world.
“A Man… A Story I” Gianni Ferrio
Another whistled piece taken from a soundtrack. I like that there are so many variations of the same melodic theme played by different instruments.
“VPRO-tune” Geert Chatrou
Geert Chatrou is my other one whistling hero and this is one of his pieces that I love the most. To me he is the best living whistler in the world. When I was younger and starting to explore the world of whistling, I found his email address online. I wrote to him asking for tips. Not only did he write back to me, but we also became friends.
“Le Sifflet du Baron” Bernard Estardy
More disco music whistled, please!
