Saint Just were one of the most distinctive bands of the Italian scene — a Naples acid-folk group fronted by the extraordinary voice of Jenny Sorrenti, sister of the singer Alan Sorrenti. Across two albums for the Harvest label, blending Mediterranean and Celtic folk with psychedelia, classical music and the avant-garde, they made some of the most dreamlike and original music in all of RPI.

The short version

Formed in Naples in 1972 as an acoustic trio, Saint Just built their music around the ethereal, unmistakable voice of Jenny Sorrenti. Their two albums — the delicate, avant-folk debut “Saint Just” (1973) and the rockier “La Casa del Lago” (1974) — sit at the folk edge of the Italian scene, prized today by collectors for their beauty and strangeness. The band split soon after, but Jenny Sorrenti’s haunting voice marks them out as one of RPI’s true originals.

Naples, 1972: an acid-folk trio

Saint Just formed in Naples in 1972, gathered around singer Jenny Sorrenti — known as “Jane” on the early records — the half-Welsh sister of the celebrated Alan Sorrenti. With multi-instrumentalist Antonio Verde on guitar and bass and Robert Fix on saxophone, they set out to make an acid-folk music rooted in medieval modality, romantic poetry and the introspection of the British folk scene, coloured by Jenny’s own Welsh-Celtic and Mediterranean heritage. Signed to Harvest — the same prestigious label as Jenny’s brother Alan — they became one of the earliest Italian bands to openly claim the “progressive” name.

Voice, sax and acid folk

At the heart of Saint Just was the voice of Jenny Sorrenti — soaring, piercing and utterly distinctive, as singular as her brother’s, and, like the great fringe voices of prog, one that takes a little time to love. Around it, the band wove a dreamy, poetic music of acoustic guitar, saxophone, piano and gentle percussion, mixing folk, psychedelia, classical chamber forms and a streak of free-form avant-garde. Enchanting and otherworldly, recalling at times the British acid-folk of Fairport Convention or Comus, it is among the most atmospheric and experimental music the Italian scene produced.

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Saint Just and La Casa del Lago

The self-titled debut, “Saint Just” (1973), is the more acoustic and avant of the two — a fragile, dreamlike set built on Jenny Sorrenti’s voice and Robert Fix’s sax, with guests including her brother Alan and the noted percussionist Toni Esposito, and highlights such as the lovely “Il Fiume Inondò”. When Fix left soon after, the remaining duo of Sorrenti and Verde expanded the group to a five-piece and, in a house rented by their label on Lake Bracciano, wrote their second album. “La Casa del Lago” (1974) is denser and more rock-oriented — a symphonic, jazz-tinged prog-folk, with electric guitars, violin and Mellotron in place of the debut’s hushed intimacy — and just as fine in its way. It would, sadly, be their last; the band split shortly after its release.

Album by album

Two albums of dreamlike, voice-led Italian folk-prog. Tap any title for its guide.

The players and afterwards

Saint Just were Jenny Sorrenti, Antonio Verde and Robert Fix, with guitarists Tito Rinesi and Andrea Faccenda and drummer Fulvio Maras joining for the second album. After the band broke up, Jenny Sorrenti embarked on a solo career, beginning with the 1976 album “Suspiro” — which featured a young Pino Daniele on guitar and violinist Lucio Fabbri of PFM — while Antonio Verde remained her long-time musical partner. Over the decades she has returned again and again, exploring her Mediterranean and Celtic roots and even reviving the Saint Just name. But it is the two albums of the 1970s on which the band’s reputation rests.

Where to start

Begin with the self-titled “Saint Just” (1973), the purest expression of their delicate, avant-folk vision and the best showcase for Jenny Sorrenti’s remarkable voice. From there, “La Casa del Lago” (1974) offers their richer, more rock-oriented side. Both reward patience — and lovers of British acid-folk and the gentler fringes of prog especially.

Why they still matter

Saint Just matter as one of the boldest and most original voices in Italian prog — quite literally, in the singing of Jenny Sorrenti, but also in their fearless blend of folk, psychedelia and the avant-garde. Far from the symphonic mainstream, they made music of rare atmosphere and beauty, treasured now by collectors around the world. For anyone drawn to the dreamier, folkier corners of the Italian scene, they are a genuine discovery.

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