The Show: Italians love to say, “Canta che ti passa!” which means “Sing that it will pass!” CIAO! will lift your spirits with music that you won’t hear anywhere else by Italian-American singers Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Jerry Vale, Tony Bennett, Joni James and Michael Buble; rock-era artists like Bobby Darin, Connie Francis and Frankie Avalon and soaring Italian classical melodies b
y Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli. Italian classics from Jimmy Rosselli, Lou Monte, Louis Prima, Renato Carosone, and Claudio Villa are showcased on CIAO! as well as American pop singers who recorded their hits in Italian like Stevie Wonder, Gene Pitney and the Four Tops. And contemporary Italian artists like Gigi D’Alessio, Laura Pausini, Adriano Celantano and Umberto Tozzi round out a line up of great musical selections featured every week on CIAO! where the fun and laughter generated by hosts Joey Nigro and Jim Battaglia is reminiscent of an old time radio show as they spar over a friendly controversy and share the charm and humor of Italian American traditions handed down from generation-to-generation. Topics range from the culture, beauty and history of Italy and the regions where Italian American families claim their roots; stories of immigration and assimilation, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes humorous...but always heartwarming; memories of the old neighborhoods; entertaining pieces on noteworthy Italians Americans and interviews with celebrities or ordinary Italian Americans with a story to tell. The Hosts: Joey Nigro has been entertaining audiences most of her life in musicals, clubs, concerts and cabaret performances. Her recordings and original songs have been featured on radio and CD compilations. After graduating with a journalism degree from S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, she worked in the communications field in New York City. Joey was raised on Syracuse’s old North Side Italian American Community where she began collecting stories and writing about her immigrant forbears and growing up Italian American. Joey is employed by local workforce development agency, CNY Works. Jim Battaglia was raised in an Italian American enclave on Syracuse’s lower Westside where his parents established their home when he was two and a half years old. He graduated from CCBI with a degree in Accounting and is currently employed as store manager for Nojaims Market on the city’s Near West Side. Jim is fluent in his first language, the Italian Calebrese dialect, and has toured Italy many times. He and his wife Francine are frequent visitors to his birthplace, the coastal village in Calabria. Co-producer John Nilsen brings his many years of experience in entertainment and recording to fulfill his role as co-producer. He was singer, bassist and musical director for several show bands appearing at venues including The Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, El Conquistador in Puerto Rico and Americana Hotels in Aruba, as well as most major resorts in the US and Caribbean.
