Ala traditional Italian style, REEL ITALIAN is a CD with a lot of heart, history and respect. In this album dedicated to his immigrant parents, Filippo really did his homework in finding Italian songs made famous by the American movies from decades ago. He also recorded them with live musicians and original instruments to characterize the period in which they were made popular. Thus included are many of the Standards and favorites from and era gone by played live by not only guitarists, pianists and drummers but also accordionists and mandolinists.

The CD also features a few surprises. One such surprise is the song Mona Lisa that was introduced in the movie Captain Carey, USA in Italian. Not since then has the song been sung in the original language and with the original verse. The same is true for the song Bella Notte which was sung on the sound track of the animated feature Lady and the Tramp in Italian and then as a featured song in English. Here Filippo has obtained the rights from Disney to be the first to sing the original Italian lyrics since the movie was released.

A similar story accompanies the song Summertime in Venice from the movie Summertime starring Katherine Hepbun and Rosano Brazzi. In fact, Filippo introduces that song on the CD with his live performance style of comical flair and unique storytelling ability. The vocals are in Italian and English.