Alessandroni grew up in the town of Soriano nel Cimino, 40 miles north of Rome. The family Barbershop was a favorite gathering place for local talent. "We had instruments; guitar, mandolin and a mandola. We didn't do much business. But we made a lot of music!". Today he is honoured for his major contribution to music which has come to characterize Italian cinema especially the scores of the Italian Western of Sergio Leone. As a young musician Alessandroni immersed himself in the musical folk tradition of his native Lazio region. With the help of a friend who played the guitar, Alessandroni learned the basic chords. At 13 he bought his first mandolin and devoted much of his time to listening to classical music. It did not take long for him to master the mandolin. By the time he was in his last years of high school, he had formed a band and was playing at Saturday night dances. He discovered the joys of music, money and adventure, "jumping from one influence to another", he adds smiling, "from one instrument to the other", accordion, guitar, bass tuba. Then he discovered jazz... and the tenor sax. "That was my entrance into the world of music..."
By chance, Alessandroni also discovered that he had an extraordinary capacity to whistle which he often incorporates into his performances. "Anybody can whistle" he says. "But it is a matter of having a big quantity of breath and a small quantity of sound" Not to mention the acute and perfect pitch. He toured Europe playing the piano and singing in clubs. Returning to Italy, Alessandroni formed his own singing quartet "the four caravels" and performed on a popular national network television show called "Canzonissima". His childhood friend Ennio Morricone invited him to collaborate on the score for director Sergio Leone spaghetti western "A fistfull of dollars". (His distinctive, haunting whistle became the signature tune to the series of Westerns all'Italiana). His quartet expanded into a sixteen-member group renamed "I Cantori Moderni" (The modern Singers), who became known for their original sound and cosummate professionalism. Alessandroni is preternaturally modest and is quick to give credit where credit is due, "I'm a performer, not a star... the stars are composers like Morricone..."But despite his modesty, Alessandroni has been internationally acclaimed for his enormous contributions to the italian cinema. Musically, Alessandro was and still is an unbashed romantic and an ardent fan of the 19th Century Russian composers. He believes their passion and soulful melancholia, so palpably reflected in their compositions, makes their music touch the deepest sensitivities of the soul. Alessandroni still favors string instruments, including those he first encountered at the barbershop, the mandolin and classical guitar. For him, their rich melodic tones have the unique ability to vibrate and resonate with the intimate complexities of the human heart. Alessandroni is also a virtuoso player of saxophone, sitar, accordion and keyboard. But as he says, "of all the instruments that I have played, there is always one I call my own, the guitar". Alessandroni musical interests are similary wide ranging. He has an insatiable curiosity about the Kaleidoscopic aspects of music everywhere. His special gift is the ability to integrate musical influences from all over the world seamlessy into his compositions, arrangements and performances. This very serious musician with a quiet manner and understated elegance, also has a light-hearted side that is gracefully reflected in his love of life, mischievous sense of humor, and, not least, in his music.